No Preachy, Cheesy Art
One of the biggest concerns I hear from Christian creatives is that they don’t want their art to be “preachy” or “cheesy.”
I get it. But honestly, that will never be an issue if you’re actively creating with God.
How can I be so sure? Because God is not preachy or cheesy. Nor are his creations.
God revealed his authentic creativity when he crafted the stars, oceans, forests, mountains, animals, and Eden. Then he made Adam and Eve and breathed life into them. He created everything in trueness—not to teach a lesson or preach a sermon. There was no scripture verse carved into tree trunks or tattooed on the sides of animals.
We enter the creative danger zone when we go from creating with God to making art that’s for or about him. It’s a subtle but significant shift that causes our art to be less than it was meant to be as we do things for God rather than with him. There are countless movies, songs, paintings, and stories about God that reflect very little of his wonder or presence. Most of it feels moral, predictable, and religious. And yep, these efforts tend to be preachy with a side of cheese.
Yet most of today’s heavy-handed creative works aren’t being made by Christians. They’re coming from secular entertainment companies that cloak their offerings with a facade of neutrality. Don’t be fooled. The creators are actively preaching and indoctrinating their worldview through their art. And it’s one where God isn’t honored, relevant, or present. The effect is to nudge us further from God and his created reality.
The antidote to cheesy, preachy creativity (whether Christian or secular) is simple. Actively pursue your creativity with God. The Creator of everything will then infuse your art—and your heart— with his trueness.
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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