Joy recently asked for "other thoughts" concerning Christians and imagination.
Here are mine.
Our minds are full of God given potential. Christians should know this better than anyone else. Why is it then that the rest of the world seems to display more creativity than Christians? It's often more developed. We see it more often. Displayed in more ways.
Perhaps this is something that others (the Schaeffers) have already addressed, but what is it that keeps Christians back? Fear?
It seems we have two choices. We can either encourage our creativity and train our minds, or we can let them take a sin-natural downward spiral.
The two seem to be related. We can either foster righteous, creative thinking or let our minds fester on the sin of this world.
In the Psalms, David talks about his consistent meditation on God's law and testimonies (Psalm 119:97).
"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." -- Psalm 19:14
If our minds were filled with meditation on Christ, they would not be able to fester. Filling our minds with Christ will leave no room for meditation on sin.
To be truly Creative, our minds must be filled with the Truth given to us by the Creator: His Love for mankind and our redemption through His Son's death. Because we are redeemed we can Live in the Truth of His Love. Because we our redeemed our minds can be filled with His Love. Because we are redeemed our Creativity will show His Love.
Psalm 19 consists of meditation of God's Creativity and the Truth in it. It ends with a prayer that David's meditation be acceptable in His sight for God was His Rock and Redeemer.
Posted by TheIdeaMan at December 23, 2003 11:09 PM | TrackBackThat's a good question. Why does it seem that many Christians are less creative?
I would say that in many cases they aren't. (Not to discredit the force of what you are saying, because I think it still deserves discussion.) Check out a book entitled Under the Influence---it's all about how Christianity has changed the world in the last 2000 years. Amazing!
But on the other side of that I would say that many times Christians feel a dicotomy between secular and sacred callings. The unsaved person unreservedly is running after his career with NOTHING else in life as a sustaining purpose. He achieves great things because for him this is all there is.
The problem comes when Christians try to divide their time between their "sacred" callings---Sunday church, Wed. church, Thursday night soulwinning, Friday night soulwinning, Saturday night youth group, Monday night nursing home (you get the picture)----from their "secular", vocational callings.
The thing we must do is to begin to relate our vocations to expanding God's kingdom---not simply as a means of "paying the bills" so that we can do what we really want to do---"soulwinning".
Does this make sense? Let me know your thoughts on this.
Brannon
Posted by: Brannon McAllister at December 28, 2003 07:56 PMTo follow Brannon's vein...
Could it be that too many church/Christian school kids are being misled as to God's call for them?
How many people would have been a great light in creative fields, but instead followed what someone told them to do. Now they've sequestered their talents and are holed up in some remote Christian school teaching Saxon math and ACE paces.
I think "good, Bible-believing Fundamentalists" overlook being in the world, and stress full-time Christian service (which is not all bad in itself).
If we are trying to reach a market (the unsaved), then we should go where they are (the world), not where our kids are (Christian school, which I do support) to reach them.
I think if tentmaking were taught more (even for U.S. application), then we would have more creativity getting out. As it is now, I'd guess that the talent is covered up.
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