Your Creative “Why”
-An exclusive excerpt from Allen’s new book-
A better question than “What are you creating?” is “Why are you creating?” What we create focuses on output. But why we create cuts deeper. It reveals motive.
Why are you creating? Is it for external praise or validation, the expectations of others, or the pressure to prove yourself? What is your motive?
Paul penned about half of the New Testament books. He was a man on a mission with God. What could be more important? Yet during this very time…Paul also made tents.
Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was. (Acts 18:3 NLT)
We often think we can’t fully pursue our destiny with God until we break free from our daily projects. Some even quit their day jobs to chase their dreams with God. But you must be wise, especially when a family relies on your income. Ask God for clarity on the timing for a career or income shift. Leaping off a cliff and assuming God must provide a parachute reflects our impatience more than our faith.
Dream-making and tent-making aren’t mutually exclusive categories. They often go hand in hand. There’s no guarantee of income from our God-given creativity. Painters may need to build decks to pay the bills. Deck builders may need to paint for income. We all have to make a living as we pursue our dreams.
Your motive for creating will fill the process with either freedom or pressure. It will provide your barometer for success. So choose wisely. Create to know rather than be known. At the deepest level, we don’t create because we’re paid to do so. We step into our destiny because we’re born to do so. Often while still making tents.
Motive can be a Glitch Maker. Here’s your Glitch Breaker.
Take a moment now to consider why you pursue what you do. A healthy motive results in less pressure to prove something and more passion to create something. Ask God to show you if your creative desires are something to try and make a living from...or do in your spare time.
(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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