Don't Flunk Art Class

The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes.

-Martin Luther

There is something so true and powerful about this quote. It speaks right to the heart of art and creativity in the Christian culture that we live in today. Today, I can buy Christian music, movies, books, t-shirts, shoes, jewelry, diet plans, candy and comic books. I could probably go the rest of my life without consuming anything that wasn't made by and for Christians. What's crazy about the incredible statement Martin Luther makes about the Christian duty of creativity is that he said it 500 years ago. That's it, take a deep breath and contemplate that...500 years ago we were still dealing with issues of isolationism and Christian commerce.

I recently spoke at a youth convention about Christians and art. It was an exciting topic for me to tackle since I have been a musician and songwriter and because the Bible has a lot to say about art and creativity. In the Bible, the book of Ephesians has an unlikely, but Biblical view on how art intersects our lives as believers in Jesus.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2:10

First, God has a creative nature that he has instilled in each of us. What was the first documented thing God did in the Bible? He created. He made things. He imagined them up with his creative mind and gave form to the vision that existed in his heart. Then God created man as his masterpiece in his own image. We were created to create! We were made with the purpose of continuing the process of making and remaking the earth, and God has invited us to join him in creation by putting in us an undeniable desire to express ourselves by making things. Music, paintings, cabinets, cars, sculptures, computers, movies, toilets...all of these things were created by men who were inspired by the creative spark of the divine that God placed in each of us.

Secondly, art reflects the human condition. God created us anew in Christ Jesus. That means we weren't always perfect! We were messy and ugly and crude and broken. This is a big one, because as Christians we often expect all art to always sum up the gospel in a neat, tidy, positive little package, but the reality is that we live in a fallen world and were not always in God's good grace. We are imperfect people who need to be redeemed by a perfect God. Many Christians will produce art that is very inspirational and positive, but God didn't just make Christians in his image. People who don't know God have a divinely inspired creative impulse too, and way too often we reject and deny the true and earnest cries of those who are desperate and hungry for God just because they put their cries to the melody of a song or write them into a screenplay. We must be good judges of the media that we consume, but the Bible makes no distinction between secular and Christian life. Martin Luther knew this when he talked about the Christian shoemaker. There are full sections in the Bible where the writer is in a really dark place and doesn't mind letting God know about it.

You don’t let me sleep. I am too distressed even to pray! I think of the good old days, long since ended, when my nights were filled with joyful songs. I search my soul and ponder the difference now. Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me? Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion?

Psalm 77:4-9

This passage is just one example out of many, but God doesn't seem to mind. In fact, he welcomes our honesty and transparency. The Bible says that he works through our weakness. In the expressions of our hurt, lostness and pain, the reality of our humanness is brought to the forefront. But so is the reality of God's grace and love in our lives.

Finally, our art is meant to reflect the glory, perfection and goodness of God. We were created to do good works that he planned in advance for us. This doesn't mean that everything we do has to have a cross stamped on it. It means that our art, whatever our creative endeavors are, should be good. The shoes we make should be the best shoes out there because we serve the best God out there. The music we write should be compelling and original because so is God. As followers of Jesus, nothing we create should be mediocre or irrelevant because God is neither of those things. When what we create is second rate, it paints our creator as second rate. God created us to do good things, not average or just okay things. Everything we do should be done as if it were for him personally, and if God commissioned me to write him a song you can bet I'd work my tail off on it.

Below is a great example of an artist who is a Christian creating compelling, professional and quality music (check it out and buy this record). Creativity matters to God, so it should matter to us. How can you improve the quality of what you make in life? How can you honor God with it in better ways? How can it reflect his true character and nature better?