Created in His Creative Image
23 Oct 2002
Email: David Benrexi
God loves to create. He lives to create. Who?s more creative than God?
In Psalm 96 and Psalm 98, we are commanded to "Sing to the LORD a new song." God wants to give us new ways to express His love for us, and He wants us to express our love for Him in new ways.
No two people are alike, because each person is created uniquely by God, Who created us in His own image. Creativity is part of that image. Each one of us is created with the ability to create new and amazing things. Music is a special God-given realm, where the infinite beauty and wisdom of God can be expressed by His beloved creation. It is not coincidental that music is a part of every church service, almost without exception. Music is a big deal to God, but in our children's schools, it is considered a "minor" along with Phys. Ed., Print Shop, Art, and Health. The young mind is exhorted early to embrace the non-creative studies of History, Science, Mathematics, English, Geography, and every -ology, -etry, and -ism.
God is a creative God Who created man in His own image. Man is born to create. Just as our educational institutions have taught for years that God is irrelevant, they have become champions at stifling creativity. Did you ever wonder why so many musicians and artists are addicted to drugs, divorced, depressed, even suicidal? It is because of living in a world that wants to "fix" them. Just as you send the cat to the vet to get fixed so you won't have five kittens running around making messes on your shag carpets, society wants to "fix" musicians. It starts in kindergarten. Johnny is tapping his fingers on his desk while the teacher reads "Winnie the Pooh." Suddenly, she stops reading and looks right at Johnny. Her body language says, "How dare you make that infernal racket while I?m speaking. What sort of ignorant person are you?" The next time it happens, Johnny gets a ten minute time-out. He learns to listen to the teacher. When he turns fourteen, some friends offer him a drug that gives him a buzz and he resumes his drumming career.
Who is the master-mind behind this stifling of creativity, which is in fact the thwarting of God's purpose for a person? It is none other than satan himself. He does this through the exaltation of man--the worship of science, math, English Literature, Geography, History, and the memorization of non-creative facts.
Early on, the young creative person is taught to strive for mastery in non-creative endeavors. Those with a burning desire to express themselves creatively are targeted by satan for ridicule, discouragement, scorn, and derision. If this attack aimed at stopping the flow of creativity is not successful, then satan goes to work to lead the creative person to pervert their gift. It becomes a means to gratify the most selfish human desires, of which the foremost is the desire to be worshiped.
I know many musicians who have never written a song, but tell me they wish they could. The reason might be as simple as they think they can't. Their creative writing ability has been stolen from them by guess who. Look at their educational experience. What sort of writing was discouraged? Flights of fantasy, ramblings, deeply personal matters. What sort of writing was encouraged? Memorizing facts from a textbook so they could be regurgitated for an exam. "We're not interested in what you think or how you feel. Did you do your assignment? Did you do your problems?"
The target on the creative young mind opens them to a daily attack. "Why can't you act normal?" The artist is told the story of the lazy grasshopper (him) and the hard-working ant (normal people). He is buffeted with comments like, "You're no Frank Sinatra... You're no Fred Astaire... You're no Picasso...You ain't exactly Shakespeare... Don't quit your day job..."
Satan hates creativity, but if he can't prevent it, he'll pervert it, and turn it away from its source, God. Creativity gone astray is something satan will feed gladly. That's why so many famous musicians, artists, and writers became drug addicts, alcoholics, mentally ill, and self-destructive. Satan has put them in bondage. They are bound by guilt, shame, pride, lust, or whatever satan can use to separate and alienate them from God. The big dream becomes success and receiving recognition and adulation, the worship of man. Just as satan offered Eve the chance to be "like a god" he offers the same deception to the gifted young person and snickers to himself when the sucker reaches for the bait. It takes the discernment only God can give to resist the evil one's lies. "All these things I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." (Matthew 4:9)
Creativity wants to do something new and different-- to sing a harmony, play an instrument, write a new verse, paint a feeling.
Non-creativity wants to do something that already exists exactly the same way it's always been done. "We don't do things that way around here!" Translation: "I'm the director (boss, teacher, leader, top banana) and what I say goes!"
Non-creative people have always feared creative people. They call them contentious, lone rangers, mavericks, undisciplined, unsubmitted, not-a-team-player, unteachable, and uncoachable. Are they really? Who is this accuser of the brethren? You can guess by now. After his targets are wounded by his accusations, he will be there to offer them a drink, a drug, a sexual kick, someone to worship their gift.
Where were we when Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain needed us? It's not too late to love a wounded musician into the kingdom. And if you've been convinced that you are not creative, think again. YOU ARE!
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