Creativity Pirates

When it comes to creating art in any genre, I honestly believe Christians should be the most innovative, groundbreaking, original, creative people on the planet.  I mean, think about it, not only do we serve the Maker and Creator of the Universe, but His Spirit lives inside of us!  We are forgiven and set free!  We are blessed beyond measure!  We are children of the King of Kings!  And if those things really are true, then creativity should flow from us as pure as the joy from Agustus Gloop upon first laying eyes on Mr. Wonka’s chocolate river.  But it doesn’t.  Not usually. 

Most of the time we become creativity pirates.  I’m not talking about being inspired by someone’s work – I mean hijacking it and passing on a less creative version.  We have an awfully bad habit of taking things the world has made popular and “Christianizing” them.  Instead of innovating, we counterfeit.  We copy musical styles, we market themed Bibles, and we rip off corporate logos and make inspirational t-shirts out of them.  And on top of that we usually operate slightly behind the curve, creating a peculiar subculture that becomes less and less relevant with each passing fad. 

   

But why?     

Maybe we’re lazy.  Maybe we believe we have to compete with the world – and when we think we don’t cut it, we give up.  Or maybe we put so many self-imposed “Christian” rules on our creativity that we kill it.

I don’t know what the reasons are or what the answer is.  Maybe my entire view is flawed.  Maybe what we “should be,” or “should do,” can vary as often as popular opinion changes.  But for me…I need a bottom line.  And my bottom line is this: I create art because I enjoy it.  And I enjoy it because God made me that way.  And when I do what God made me to do, and I do it with a joyful heart, giving Him the glory...well, that’s what worship is.           

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ~ Genesis 1:1