Genesis 1, Psalm 34:9-14
2. Creativity
God is the creative worker from start to finish.
We learn most about creativity from what God has done and is doing.
Before there was anything else, God had an idea. Then he created. He brought that idea into being. The act of creating is the act of bringing an idea into reality.
So God made lots of charged particles which he formed into atoms. He made different sizes of atoms so that they had different properties. He made millions of these atoms and formed molecules, chemicals, substances that were different to one another. He developed systems by which these substances work together. He made a variety of cells out of some of these substances and put them together in different ways to form plants and animals, birds and fish and many more living creatures. He fuelled all this with energy which made his systems work and gave his creatures life. His systems integrated everything making it all work beautifully and harmoniously.
To top it all off God created beings with intelligence and spirit whom he made to be a lot like himself. These are the human beings – the ones he loves best of all; the ones he relates to person to person.
From nothing to all this; from idea to reality. And note this: because God is creative and we are like God, we are creative – yes, all of us. We have ideas and we are able to bring them into being; we are creative.
Let’s look at some Features of God’s creativity and compare them with our own, and add some economic comment as well so that we stay on topic.
God’s work was good, expressing beauty; he liked what he made – loves it. It is easy to see God’s likeness in our creativity. Just look at the joy and delight in, and love for, what we create. We seek to create beauty and order as God does.
God made something out of nothing. We don’t work from absolutely nothing. Eg: the scientists who thought they could create life.
I can’t think of a nothing-to-something human creation but if you can, let me know.
God put his creation together in the right order, each new development building on the last. We need to work this way, too. There’s no point getting out your paint and brush and flinging paint in the air. You need to prepare a surface to paint on. To make a butterfly brooch I first have to cut a piece of wood the right size and shape, then draw a design on it, then carve it, then sand it smooth, then glue the pin on the back and finally varnish it. It is quite pointless to do it in any other order. Each act of creating has its own particular and necessary process.
It is the same in business. A new business has to be built in the right order. Likewise a business is run by proper procedures and processes. There is room for creativity in this for discipline and method are required for every creation to be successfully completed.
God’s work was artistic and good. Is ours always artistic? Matter of opinion sometimes, but our creating does have an aesthetic value. Artistic creations enhance our lives; ugly ones don’t.
Is our creating always good? No, sometimes our creations are not good. They can be anything from suspect to bad to downright evil, or their effects can be evil. Last week it was 70 years since atomic bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Nuclear and every kind of technology can be used for good or for bad – it is up to the people with the knowledge to choose good uses. Our creativity has a moral value. Back in the Muldoon era someone coined the phrase ‘creative accounting’. This may be creative, but it’s not good. It actually means ‘cooking the books’ to make it look like all’s well when it isn’t.
Yesterday, I joined the thousands of people in Aotea Square protesting the TPPA. The TPPA is a deal designed to maximise the profits of the global corporations. It is creative in its own way but it is evil. During the protest I listened to the speakers and I talked with several fellow protesters and I am quite impressed by the creative ways people are finding to fight this evil.
God is constantly re-creating his creation. I’ve just had our car in the garage for servicing. They had to do some work to keep it running well. The world is like that – God has to keep renewing his creation to keep it in good order. Spring is coming soon – always a reminder of that recreating, renewing, restoring, regenerating process.
God keeps creating new beings and every one is unique. Each life is unique. Unfortunately not every one gets to live the full span that we would want or expect. That has everything to do with the brokenness of our world. It is not as God made it. It has been spoiled by the people to whom God entrusted it. Remember, God gave the world he made and loved to the people he made and loved, entrusting us to love it like he does – and we haven’t.
But God is doing a recreating work in us – at least in us who have chosen to undergo this treatment – to better bring out his likeness in us, restoring the bits that have gone wrong, been corrupted or malfunctioned. Eventually he will completely re-create us and the world – new bodies, new heavens, new earth.
One more thing. God knows everything but we are constantly learning new things. We build on what we know to come up with new things all the time. Every field of human endeavour works this way.
Creativity is necessary for business as it leads to innovation – new products, services, methods, … and new businesses. Entrepreneurship is essentially creative.
Work should foster creativity, not suppress it. Drudgery is bad for humans because creativity is in our DNA. At the same time we need to recognise that not everything we get to do is creative. There are plenty of other aspects to work and life. Often we are part of making someone else’s idea a reality by the work we do.
How does this apply to us?
What about the church, can we be creative? Absolutely. How else can we fully reflect our God?
Dave Mann has been quite creative with the Hope Project. Changes in New Zealand society have required new ways of reaching Kiwis with the gospel. Dave has come up with a plan and put that plan into action. In his book, “The Elephant in the Room”, he explains the idea that inspired the creation of the action plan.
Our creativity is part of our whole self and therefore part of our whole life. Sure, I’ve talked about the world of work, but not only that. Retired people, you’re part of this too. Just think of yourself as self-employed. You can be creative in many ways; it’s up to you. If you’re not allowing your creative side to flourish, make the necessary changes so that it can. You’re never too old.
The following is a summary of a blog by Justin Zoradi, a friend of Donald Miller.
A good friend told me there are three types of people in the world:
1. Consumers
2. Critics
3. Creators
Consumers feed off other peoples’ creations without contributing anything of their own.
Critics critique other peoples’ creations while producing little or nothing themselves.
Consuming is a lazy option. Criticising is an easy option that many of fall into more than we’d like. Neither is a fulfilling option. God is at his best when he’s creating, and so are we. Which means it’s our job to try and move from a life of consumption and criticism and into a life of creative action, and to encourage others to do likewise.
This isn’t just for artists, activists, engineers, or entrepreneurs. I think everyone has the ability to create with great purpose.
Work can be monotonous. Retirement can be monotonous. Each day I try and put one thing on my to-do list that requires a fresh creative punch. Often this is as simple as a 10 minute phone call to bounce a new idea off a friend. I find this simple act of forcing myself to create actually invigorates all the other things I’ve been avoiding all day.
Some final thoughts:
Creativity is an exponential force. It produces better work that produces better work.
Creativity is also a repelling force. The more we create, the more it repels us away from the dangers of over consumption and over criticism.
Questions to ask yourself:
What moves you?
What drives you?
What infuriates you?
And how can you creatively engage in a way that uses your innate gifts and abilities, instead of just responding as a critic or consumer?
Start today. The worst thing you can do is postpone your creative action until tomorrow.
[Justin Zoradi, runs a non-profit called, These Numbers Have Faces.]