God Isn't Preachy
-An exclusive excerpt from Allen’s new book-
As we create in trueness and avoid the dangers of indoctrination, it’s essential we don’t water down our creativity out of a fear of being “preachy.”
Your presence and your projects don’t need to preach a sermon. We have preachers and priests for that. But reflecting God’s trueness in your creativity isn’t preachy. Creation wasn’t preachy. Jesus wasn’t preachy. The fruits of the Spirit aren’t preachy. They all reflect a rugged, beautiful, true view of reality. When we shy away from this, we dilute our efforts.
So how do we make things that are neither watered down nor heavy-handed?
You’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. (Philippians 4:8 MSG)
But when we fill our minds with dark thoughts, our imagination can become bent. An extreme example of this was in the days of Noah before the flood.
The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. (Genesis 6:5 NLT)
God calls us to be light-bearers—but shining the light on ourselves only leads to darkness.
You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!...By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:15-16 MSG)
When we boldly create with God and then boldly share it with others, that’s not being preachy. It’s being passionate and true.
(From The Creativity Glitch: How to Stop Being Stuck, Find Your Groove, & Create with God.Copyright © 2026 Allen Arnold.)
This reading was crafted to encourage your pursuit of story and creativity with God. Your donation makes this crowd-funded initiative possible. You can support it via PAYPAL (or by check to Allen Arnold at PO Box 62841, Colorado Springs, CO 80962).
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