What hinders us from using our gift of creativity?

One season of my life, I was invited into a community full of incredibly talented worship leaders.  My husband and I were part of a 2-year learning co-hort, being shaped by practices that taught us to live from the depths of our hearts instead of the superficial surface.  One of the practices we engaged in during our twice yearly weekends together was a Song Circle.  Each worship leader was encouraged to bring an original song to lead the community with.  The rules were simple: a song you wrote, utilizing communal language “we, us, ours” instead of “I, me, my”, and no disclaimers before you sang.

The first time I planned to bring a song to Song Circle, I was wracked with anxiety.  I’m not a formally trained musician.  I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember and am a self-taught guitar player.  God has just paved the way for me to use my voice to lead others in worship over the years. 

The night of the Song Circle, my heart was pounding, my hands shaking and sweaty, and my insides twisted up at the thought of being critiqued by this room of gifted singers and songwriters.  Courageously, I sang my song.  When I finished, the room was incredibly gracious with their encouragement and celebration of the creative gift that I brought. 

But the real impact of Song Circle happened twenty-four hours later.  My friend Jack had asked if he could use my song to lead our community during a time of worship.  I stood in a back corner of the living room that night, listening, watching and soaking in a room of voices singing my original song. My gift was being affirmed. Not by the people in the room but by Jesus Himself who entered in with His presence as they worshipped.  He settled over my heart that what I had brought into that space was my creative gift as an offering unto Him.  And it was good. 

Your unique expression

“If every child of God is made in His image, then creativity is not a talent for the select-few, it is a birthright. We make beautiful discoveries when we dare to believe He desires to speak through our creativity and meet us in the process.”  Melissa Helser

I have too often succumbed to the lie that creativity is for the special, the talented, those with extraordinary giftings.  But what if creativity is at the core of who we are?  That we were designed to think of new ideas, construct art with our hands, make music and write songs, or string together words that form sentences to tell stories. What if we found our creativity on display by what we grew in our gardens or the three layer cake we pulled out of the oven or the unique mixing of ingredients for a delicious dish?  Or maybe it’s seen when we learn to knit or dance or play an instrument or speak a different language. 

If you were given full freedom to step into the gift of creating, what would come out of you?  Don’t buy the lie that it needs to be a unique skill.  It simply needs to be your unique expression of that skill!

To consume or to create?

The enemy tries to suppress the gift of creativity by turning us into consumers over creators.  Our digital world becomes a distraction instead of a space to stir our imagination. It beckons us with entertainment, marketing ploys, quick click shopping, apps and podcasts.  Binging shows has become normal. Scrolling social media channels for the next dopamine rush.  Observing videos from influencers as if they were our friends. Easy clicking to go from one site or purchase to the next.  Getting lost in the mindless watching while clouding our imaginations from being able to explore our birthright of creativity. 

A note on comparison

And if we start to find freedom from the lies that we aren’t truly talented or special and have been learning to turn off some of the distraction, we’ll run right into our ugly friend: comparison.  “Comparison is the thief of joy.” A memorable statement that was made famous by Theodore Roosevelt but has its foundations in scripture.  Paul shared with the Corinthian church his views on staying in his own lane in order to do the work that he has been given: 

“We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves.  But when they measure themselves by one another, they do not show good sense.  We, however, will not boast beyond limits, but will keep within the field that God has assigned to us.” 2 Cor 10: 12-13 NRSV

Paul reminds us that it’s just not good sense to measure ourselves by comparison.  It distracts us from living the life that He has specifically given to us.  And yet, our culture feeds this insecurity of comparison on a daily basis. I watch my teen daughters wrestle with this frequently.  “She’s a better athlete than me.  She’s smarter than I am.  She sings more beautifully than I can”…….and the list goes on.  Truthfully? I could  join their chorus with my own list of comparisons.  “Her writing is so lovely compared to mine.  She’s already published a book! She leads with such grace and authority.  Her musical gifts are far better than my own…….”

Why does comparison steal our joy?  Because we are caught up in our need for the praise of other people instead of bringing our gift as an offering before the Father.  How would our hearts shift if we brought our creative gifts simply to honor the Creator? Instead of looking sideways in comparison, we looked straight ahead and said “my creativity is enough because the Father takes joy in what I want to give back to Him.” 

The Father’s invitation

Last week, my 14 year old daughter brought home 2 watercolors she painted in art class.  She showed them to me almost as an afterthought, without much pride.  As I looked at the two scenes she painted, I saw the beauty of what she created and asked if I could keep them.  The surprise on her face confirmed what I was reading in her thoughts: they weren’t good enough for keeping.  As a mother, I treasure these original creations, as much as I treasure pictures she drew for me when she was in kindergarten!  Wouldn’t the Father look at all of our creativity in much the same way? I can hear Him now. “Go ahead Jen!  Put that creativity on display,  I see what you have made and it is GOOD!”  

You and I were made to be create.To partner with the original Creator and reveal more fully who He is by what we create. He is honored by it!  He’s invited you to join Him in reflecting His beauty for all the world to see! What did you learn about yourself from the questions I asked in the last post? What is one thing you could do this week to cultivate the creativity that is in you?