“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
No matter our beliefs as Christians it can be tough at times to maintain a Christian mindset. Be it entertainment, sports, politics, or more; our society has plenty of distractions to take our minds off of Christ. As a result, these interruptions can keep us from loving God, loving others, and from fulfilling the Great Commission. There is, however, a solution.
The answer rests in our creativity, and there are many ways we can be creative. Traditionally, creativity is based in one of the arts: painting, music, theater and other applications are some examples. However, creativity is represented by other things too. No matter the activity, it’s important to discover the art we enjoy best and seek to grow as artists. The better our art, the more we’ll enjoy it, and we might find how our art both glorifies God and spiritually transforms us.
Personally, I’ve experienced this recently by choosing to embrace writing as my means of artistic expression. Doing so I’ve discovered that writing is also spiritually developing me; it’s helping me “set my mind on things above.” By taking the time to wrestle with the words I choose to communicate, my thoughts are conforming easier towards the things of Christ. Yes, the writing process isn’t always easy, but that’s my goal. I want to allow my art to encourage me to focus on the intentional Christian thoughts in my head. Therefore, as I wrestle with the words I choose to use, my soul is changing because I’m wrestling with eternal things too. This journey is one I think each Christian can take if they choose to discover their artistic expression.
Know that I didn’t solidify writing as my form of art on my first attempt. No, I tried many different activities. I’ve tried music and due to some physical limitations, I was never successful in developing music as a creative outlet. Earlier in life, I wanted to be an artist, but I was never consistent in the pictures I drew. There also were other expressions I tried, but I didn’t give up. Rather, I kept trying different activities until I found the one I was willing to commit to, which is writing. Sure, I may need improvement, but writing is an art God’s using to retrain my mind, help others, and to glorify Him.
In closing, what form of art do you enjoy doing? It could be music; it could be photography or even sculpting. If you don’t know what you enjoy, then try different things until you discover your preferred interest. Once you realize it, I believe you’ll find a great therapeutic outlet, but more importantly a creative means to focus on Christ. As you do, not only will you grow more intimate with Jesus, but you could just create a piece of culture that points others closer to Christ.
