Jun
4
Written by:
tim
6/4/2010 12:10 PM
Punch lines abound in almost every place I look. We're overloaded on entertainment and yet we crave more. I suppose that when everyone's finances have been doubled over with a swift kick in the gut and then dropped like a cell phone call on the Key Peninsula we all want some way to escape. Pithy comments and one-liners join the buffet of pop culture that coils around us.
I enjoy a good escape too but what I desire more of is art. What's the difference? The eye-candy that permeates our world helps us to turn our brains off. Art, on the other hand, engages our minds and emotions. It requires that we not only "look" at a picture or "listen" to music but that we also interact with it and "consider" what is before us. A quick glance isn't enough. Art invites us to a conversation even after the experience has past and good art will move us to joy, anger, sadness, hope, loneliness, bliss or even laughter. It's not that we have to be deep thinkers to enjoy it but we must employ a tidbit of patience and reflection.
As a follower of Jesus my desire for art comes with certain parameters. The first of which is that it must be honoring to the Lord. It doesn't need to proclaim the gospel overtly but it should point me to truth. If it is going to be honoring to God then it should be of the very highest quality regardless of what form it is in. Christian poetry, music, acting, movie making, dance, story telling, painting and sculpture should be done with excellence for our excellent God. Why wrap the greatest message in the history of the universe in a blanket of mediocrity? There are also some definite "stops" when it comes to art. Anything that fuels my sexual appetite for anyone other than my wife is out of bounds. Art that nurtures sin, mocks God or becomes an object of worship in some way gets crossed off the list.
God is creative. There's an understatement! He's the Creator and we are made in His image. I think He is so pleased when we take the creative gifts He has provided and offer them back to Him. I believe that He smiles when we challenge, encourage or simply bless each other through creativity.
I say, bring on the art!