Do you feel like a creative person? Did you know that everyone is creative? Yes, it’s true! I didn’t used to believe it, but I do now. And it even honors God when we exercise our creativity! Hear me out.
I’ve written about this idea before here in the Salt Blog, but it’s been four years, so I’m excited to revisit it and unpack it some more. In her book The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, Julia Cameron taught me a spiritual principle that changed the way I see the world. It’s not a Christian book per se, but she does quote the Bible in it, and I don’t think she’s wrong in this regard.
Points 4 and 5 of her ten “Basic Principles” sum it up like this:
4. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.
5. Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.
As I read her book, I realized that if God created us, then He must be creative. Just look at His amazing artistry all around the world! There are thousands of waterfalls in the world, and no two of them look exactly alike. There are billions of people in the world, but all so different and beautiful! Even twins have differences that display His creativity.
And if God created us in His image like the Bible says (see Genesis 1:27), then chances are, He made us creative, too. Sure, He didn’t make us exactly like Him. We are not omnipotent, omniscient, etc. But as I look at the amazing things people do, I think it’s true that He gave us the gift of creativity. There are so many different ways that people are creative! Paintings, sculptures, delicious food, wood crafts, novels, teacher lesson plans, photography, movies, toys, Powerpoint presentations, Lego creations, decorating, scrapbook pages, technological inventions… the list goes on. One time I took my students to a Welding & Fabrication Expo at Lane Community College, and a student there had made the most beautiful guitar out of metal by welding it in fanciful designs. I had no idea that was possible! They let the high school students try their hand at welding, and I had to tear the kids away from it when the bus came to take us back. One of them made a simple jewelry box. It wasn’t fancy, but he was so proud of it, and I believe he could already see the untapped possibilities of his own future art.
Julia Cameron says “Those who speak in spiritual terms routinely refer to God as the creator but seldom see creator as the literal term for artist. I am suggesting you take the term creator quite literally. You are seeking to forge a creative alliance, artist-to-artist with the Great Creator.” Being creative is something we can do with God!
Many of us have creative dreams. Some of them we’ve made public, some we keep secret, and some are so hidden within us that we don’t even admit them to ourselves. Or if we do admit them to ourselves, we don’t give ourselves permission to work on them. We convince ourselves that the mundane work of everyday life is more important. While it is important, and can even help us unlock our creativity (for example, I write more freely when my house is clean because I’m not distracted by the dirt and clutter), practicing our creativity is just as important. And beneficial to our soul. Why? Because when we practice being creative, we can grow closer to our Creator.
Why do we grow closer to God when we practice being creative? Points 3 and 7 of Cameron’s Basic Principles help us understand this:
3. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator’s creativity within us and our lives.
7. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction.
This sounds amazing to me. When we slow down our lives long enough to think about experiencing God more and becoming more like Him, how often do we think of practicing creativity as a way to do that? Of course, if we think the talent is from ourselves because we’re something “special,” we’ll miss the point. Our creativity is a gift from the only all-powerful, most Holy, amazingly creative God. But if we keep this in perspective, we may just experience more of Him when we allow ourselves to explore this gift.
In what ways do you practice creativity? In what ways would you like to practice creativity more? What is your experience of God when you do this?
Genesis 1:27 NIV
So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.
About the Author
Jessie is a novice writer, with several books in various stages and a blog about travel and the journeys of women. She is very excited to be a part of the CitySalt blog team. She has been blessed by a few communities of Christian writers that have encouraged her dream. She lives with her sweet husband, Chris, their 5 funny kids, and 1 fluffy cat in Springfield. She loves hiking and other outdoor and indoor adventures with her family.