I posted this on Facebook a few months back and thought I’d add it here.

Creativeness is a gift – I think most Christians recognize that. Being creative glorifies God because He is the ultimate creator. I believe very strongly that when the whether it is writing a song, making a video, or writing a book, the joy we experience when being creative resembles that of God’s joy in creating.

Yet it seems to me a lot of Christians impose restrictions and limitations on creative aspirations that should not be there. For instance, there is a lot of praise and worships songs, and that’s OK. I have no doubt the people who write those songs are glorifying God.

It’s the same thing with “Christian movies”. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with making an inspirational movie about someone who turns their life around and becomes a Christian.

But as Christians we have boxed ourselves in. In order to glorify Him, we don’t have write a song specifically about how great God. We don’t have to make a movie about a person coming to Christ. We can if we want to, for sure! But it’s not the only way because the very act of being creative glorifies God. I could write a song about a funny thing that happened to me. I could write a song about the way I feel about something. I could write a song about anything, and if I’m enjoying the process, if I’m sincere about it, then I am glorifying God, because God made us in his image, and HE is creative.  If I want to make a cowboy movie and I’m excited about it, I’m enjoying the creative process and am taking satisfaction out of my work, then I’m pretty sure I’m glorifying God whether I want to or not!

Obviously there are lines not to cross. It’s probably not a good idea to write a song with a lot of cuss words in it, or make a movie with overly graphic violence. But you get the general principle. God gave us creative freedom, so we should not feel that just because we’re Christians, that we always have to write about one subject or make movies with one goal. If you approach your creative process with a Biblical worldview, whatever flows out of you will reflect that. (The mediums are endless… theatre, books, etc.)

(My examples are the Lord of the Rings books and the band Relient K. Lord of the Rings is not an allegory – it’s purely fantasy fiction. But because J.R.R. Tolkien was a Christian, many Christian themes emerge naturally. Same thing with Relient K. Their songs rarely directly reference God, yet it’s plain to see where Matt Thiessen is coming from).

Just some thoughts I had so thanks for reading