Creativity As War

Creativity is often viewed as something only a few people are good at. The truth is, we all crave beauty in our inner being because we are all created in the image of our Creator. Performing any task can be an act of creativity when we desire to bring glory to God in doing it.

Many define success as popularity in “arts” and “entertainment” and make that the standard. This is one place creativity begins to look a lot like war. Using a horizontal comparison and judgment to measure our self-worth against another person can only bring instability. As the culture changes, or the whims of the day vary, there is no solid ground to stand on. It is no wonder many who understand they are creative, find themselves struggling with depression and rejection. Comparison is a universal issue.

When we choose to create or act in ways that bring glory to the living God, the Accuser of our souls goes to war. He is constantly looking for opportunities to drive a wedge between us and our ability to glorify God, because he wants the glory for himself. [Isaiah 14:12-14] If we do not offer it freely to him, he will try to ruin our ability to give it to the One who deserves it.

He accuses us of being worthless and not good enough. He brings confusion and lies to destabilize us. The enemy will steal kill and destroy to prevent us having the abundant life Jesus promised. These are not exhaustive tactics, but the tug between truth and lies is what creativity as war looks like.

How can we find our footing?

We block out the accusations of the enemy with worship, (or warship as I sometimes call it.) Sound is powerful, but it is not the only form of worship. The key is making the glory of God the focus in all we do. This is the beginning of winning the war of creativity.

Gratitude is an important part of worship. Whether profuse thanks or a short whisper, we acknowledge that God is good and in control.

Keeping our focus on the glory of God keeps us aligned with God’s purposes which is our true purpose. When we take our focus off of the One who made us, we begin to look around. Just like Peter stepping out of the boat to walk on water, we may begin well, but we will sink when we take our eyes off Jesus. (Matthew 14)

Soaking in the truth of who we are and whose we are gives us the rock we need to stand on. We are chosen by our Creator to create, no matter our sphere of influence or ability. As we wrap our heads and hearts around the fact that we are blessed, and highly favored children of God, we begin to re-frame our expectations. We are all children who are learning. All of us are God’s little children moving somewhere along the spectrum from our stick figures of “kindergarten” creativity to “middle school” art classes, and continue on to maturity in our given fields of creativity. 

Abba, thank you for loving us in spite of ourselves. You know that our creativity sparks war against us and your Kingdom, yet you promise to never leave us. We declare that we are your chosen ones. As you show us where we are not aligned with you, we chose to yield to your truth. Thank you for forgiving us. We rejoin your purposes in our lives to bring You glory. We see our creativity as war on the schemes of the enemy. We choose to stand with you and for you.

*I was partially inspired today by Dan McCollam’s book Bending Time.