Honoring God with Your Art

Clearly, God is creative and enjoys beauty.

I subbed yesterday in an elementary school art class. We began the class with a video on Claude Monet. After the video, I asked each table of kids to give me one fact that they learned from the movie. One little fourth grade girl said that Monet’s father didn’t want him to be a painter. I asked her if she knew why. She replied that his father thought that painters made very little money.

One little boy asked why in the world Monet would want to be an artist if he couldn’t make much money doing it. I explained to him that artists like painters, sculptors and writers had a constant need to create. It’s just how they are made and who they are. They love their art more than they love money.

His reply stunned me. He didn’t skip a beat when he said, “Artists are crazy.”

This child has been on the planet for a decade or less and has already decided that the most important motivator and force in the world is money. I find that very sad.

It’s one thing for jaded adults to feel that way, but children?

What would our world look like with no artists? There would be no Mona Lisa or Sistine Chapel. There would be no Statue of Liberty. If you were to take a look around your home, I’ll bet there is some type of art hanging on your walls.

I think when we teach our kids that creativity in itself has no value, we are doing a disservice to our creative Creator. God clearly values creativity. Just check out nature. There are peacocks, parrots and flamingos. There are tigers and leopards. There are flowers that will take your breath away.

There are flowers with beautiful, intricate designs.

In Exodus 31, when God is giving Moses instructions for the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant and clothing for the priests, He gives instructions that these creations are to be ornate and beautiful. He furthermore names master craftsmen that are filled with the “Spirit of God,” who He wants to be in charge of these creations. He goes on to say that He has “given special skill to all of the gifted craftsmen so they can make the things I have commanded you to make.”

These people have just fled Egypt. They are wandering in the desert. Yet, God commands them to make things of beauty. He also points out that some of them are gifted.

What does that tell us today? Well, for one, as usual, our priorities may be off. But, I think the message here is to nurture the gifts in our children as well as in ourselves. If God has given someone the gift of creativity, using it is a form of worship. Denying it is like refusing to open a birthday gift.

If God has put the dream of being an artist in someone along with the talent, then God wants it to be used to further His kingdom. If the artist honors God with his/her work, then God will provide. This, my friends, is what faith is all about.

I’m going to try to encourage the budding artists around me as well as try and use my talents in ways to honor God. I think that makes Him smile and I love the idea of making God smile. What about you? What can you do to grow your inner creativity? Feel free to share.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂