The Monday Memo from John Stanko

853: Art for a Few

I am off to Israel and Rome on Tuesday with a group of 36 people, and I am going to take a break from writing a Memo until Monday, May 14. If you go through withdrawal, you can always go to the Monday Memo site and read through the archives. With 853 Memos there, I think you will find something of interest there to hold you until I return.

I will be blogging and posting my pictures and trip updates on my Facebook page and on my blog, so you can follow my trip's progress at either site.

GIFTED ARTISTS

This week, I want to talk about a gifted artist who was anointed by God to do magnificent work, but whose art was created not for the masses but for the few. His name was Bezalel and he is introduced to us in Exodus 31:1-11:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent—the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand—and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.”

Bezalel and his assistants were commissioned to handle all the creative designs for the tabernacle, for which God had given specific instructions for its construction, assembly and tear down, and worship activities therein. It seems that God wanted the very best artisans in Israel to work on His dwelling place, and filled the artists with His spirit to ensure quality work.

WHY?

Why was God being so particular about the tabernacle? Obviously, He was using it as a teaching lesson that He had specific requirements when it came to worship and approaching Him. Today, we realize that He was preparing hearts for the coming of His Son, who is the only way to God. The lesson for those who were working on the tabernacle decor and construction was that their gifts were given to them by God and were to be used for God.

When you think of it, those gifted, Spirit-inspired artists were creating some masterpieces that would only be seen by a few people, those being the priests who were to handle the tabernacle worship. The Holy of Holies that contained the ark of the covenant was only seen by the high priest, so in essence, those men were doing work that would seen by few living creatures.

THE LESSONS

The lesson here is that those artists were commissioned to do superb work that would only be seen by a few eyes. They had spent their entire lives preparing for that moment, and God wanted the fruit of their gifts and lifelong preparation to be for His eyes only. What's more, creativity for those men was not something they did as a hobby or when they had time. It was their full-time endeavor and they had perfected their skill, with God's help, so that they could be called on for a special project that required the best in their field.

All of us who create hope that our work will be enjoyed by many people, perhaps some even parting with their hard-earned cash to take our art home to enjoy beyond the moment they first behold it. Whether they do or not is not the point, however, for we create because God created and gifted us to create, and we produce our projects to display what God has made us to make. If those projects lead to critical acclaim and fame, so be it. If they are for the eyes of a few, so be it as well.

When you create, do you see it as a responsibility to steward the gifts God has given you? Are you paralyzed by fear that "no one" will like it or buy it or appreciate it? If you are not flowing in your creativity, I urge you to consider the example of Bezalel and company who were commissioned to do work destined to be seen by very few, but who had the satisfaction of knowing that God was pleased and would behold their handiwork in the context of worship that He had required. I am happy to produce for His eyes only, and I invite you to join me as we worship the Lord through the work of our hands. Have a blessed three weeks till I am back again!

822: Where's Your Fruit?

I preached in all five services at my home church this past weekend. The title of my message was "Kingdom Fruit." In my message, I discussed the need for each citizen of God's kingdom to bear fruit as Jesus warned in Matthew 21:43: "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit." You can access my message on my mobile app under the folder "Preached Messages." In this Memo, I want to make some additional comments on the issue of fruit.

THE FRUIT PROCESS

I reflected this past week on what it takes for actual, edible fruit to be produced. Here are some thoughts on the matter:

1. Fruit is fragile and conditions must be right for it to come forth - climate, soil, free from frost, not too much rain (or too little). The same is true for spiritual fruit.
   
2. Fruit starts with a blossom, which is pretty and fragrant, but is only the beginning. There are many believers who blossom and have great potential to bear fruit, but that potential must be nurtured.
   
3. If fruit is eaten before it is ripe, it can be toxic if harvested prematurely. The same is true for spiritual fruit. It requires maturity for it to taste the best.
   
4. Fruit is meant for two things: to be consumed by others or to produce seed so that more fruit can be produced. All spiritual fruit is for the benefit of other people to consume as they need it (although the farmer can certainly partake of and enjoy the fruit they help produce).
   
5. Fruit usually has a short lifespan and must be consumed quickly or it will rot and go to waste. No one knows how many days they have to bear fruit, so it must be produced and distributed with a sense of urgency.
   
6. Fruit requires an ongoing process of pruning and fertilizing its source, or bad or anemic fruit will be produced. Believers must continue to nurture themselves spiritually if they are to bear more and better fruit.
   

THE RESEARCH IS IN AND . . .

I spent some time reading what others have written about fruit and one thing is for certain: Most people have described what fruit is like (just as I did above) but they are hesitant to come out and say what we should be looking for in our lives that can be called fruit. Some do say that it is souls saved or people we lead to the Lord. Yet, if truth be told, most people do not lead many people to the Lord. Others say it is a vibrant prayer life, but is fruit defined as the number of prayers a believer says in his or her lifetime? Finally, some identify fruit as correct doctrine, but that makes fruit an intellectual pursuit. I discuss in my message what I believe fruit is not, so you can access it to hear more (it's 30-minutes long; in it, I cover the thought that fruit is what is described in Galatians 5:10, usually referred to as the fruit of the Spirit).

Therefore, below I offer my definition of Kingdom fruit, and challenge you to identify what this fruit is in your life. Once you identify it (or if you already know what it is), then I further challenge you to determine how you can be even more fruitful. But first, here is my definition:

following your joy as you combine your God-given gifts, creativity, purpose, experience, interests, and sustained effort in a way that produces something of value for the benefit of others and yourself.

My fruit is comprised of the books I have written; the libraries I have helped establish in Kenya; the classes I have taught at university; the devotionals I have written, published, and posted on social media for 16 years; and the seminars I have conducted on purpose and creativity. Oh yes, and as the Spirit has produced His fruit in my life, it has translated into tangible expressions of empathy for others in painful and difficult situations to which I formerly paid little attention.

Let me close with this thought: All fruit is measurable and measured. We speak of fruit as a cluster, a bunch, peck, half-bushel, bushel, pound, kilo, acre, or hectare. Therefore, I assume that your fruit, even though it's spiritual, must be measurable as well. This week, spend some time praying and thinking about the question, "What is my fruit?" and then follow the answer up with another: "How can I produce more of it?" If you persevere in seeking the answers, you will bear the fruit of the Kingdom in your life that God expects and enjoys. Have a blessed week!

803: Hiding from God

This past week, I stumbled on the story of King Saul's ascent to leadership in 1 Samuel. I say stumbled because I was not intending to study this story and had not considered it much in the past. There are many puzzling things about Saul's leadership journey, and I have been researching and studying online and in the library since Tuesday.

I have many questions like: why did God seem so supportive of Saul's appointment, even though He was clear that Saul represented Israel's rejection of God's kingship? Why did Saul seem so spiritual at one point with so many supernatural confirmations of his leadership and then fall and fail so quickly? Why was Samuel so ready to reject Saul as king when Saul disobeyed over what was seemingly much less of a transgression than David committed with Bathsheba? I'm not sure I will find definitive answers, but I know I will enjoy the investigation.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED SO FAR.

One thing stood out to me right away as I began to study and that was how ambivalent Saul was about the leadership position God was assigning him. While it seemed humble and the proper response, I am not sure it was, and I believe it is a common response among God's people:

1. EXCUSES: "Saul answered, 'But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?'" (1 Samuel 9:21).  Like Gideon, Saul objected that his family heritage was not worthy of leadership, and tried to use low self-esteem as an excuse not to lead.
2. SILENCE: "Saul’s uncle said, 'Tell me what Samuel said to you.' Saul replied, 'He assured us that the donkeys had been found.' But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship" (1 Samuel 10:14-16). Saul refused to tell his uncle what God had said to him through Samuel, perhaps assuming that his silence would cause the entire encounter with Samuel to go away.
   
3. HIDING: "Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. So they inquired further of the Lord, 'Has the man come here yet?' And the Lord said, 'Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies'" (1 Samuel 10:21b-22).
   

After he had no other way to avoid God's call and assignment, Saul resorted to hiding in the warehouse. He thought he could hide from God's plan, and it would all just go away, but he was wrong. God's choice was clear and final, and Saul would reluctantly accept the call. I wonder if the rest of his career was a futile attempt at running and hiding as he was found doing when his reign began?

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Has God assigned something for you to do? Perhaps it is something to create or a purpose to accomplish. If you are like Saul, you have tried one or all of this three ploys to avoid the will of God: excuses, silence, and hiding. The hiding can take the form of busy-ness ("God, it is just not realistic for me to do Your will right now"), or silence ("If I don't volunteer or tell anyone about what God wants me to do, then God cannot use them to hold me accountable"), or excuses ("I don't have the education, time, or money to do that; I hope that God gives it to someone else to do. After all, my kids need me"). I suppose we can boil all three down into one, and that is trying to hide from God.

Are you hiding? Well, if you are, you have been found, just like Saul was found. God knows where you are, and He has sent me to bring you out. You have something to do that only you can do, so I suggest you get over the excuses, open your mouth, and then accept the anointing that is yours. One word of caution: Don't act like you are doing God a favor as you come out of hiding. If you don't deal with your fear and rebellion, then your entire "career," like that of Saul's, will be one of the reluctant disciple who must be coerced into obedience, and that will not be good for those around you and especially for you. Have a blessed week!

799: One More Year?

This past weekend, I spoke five times in my local church and the title of my message was "A Dangerous Masquerade," based on the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. Then after I spoke, I had the last meeting with the team going to Kenya with me this Thursday. When I got home, I simply ran out of time to do this week's Memo, which hasn't happened very often over the 16 years I have been writing. So here is this week's Memo, albeit a day late. (By the way, if you would like to view my 30-minute message from last weekend, you can see it here.)

Next weekend, I will produce my Monday Memo number 800. I started the Memo in March, 2001 with the first eight subscribers who signed up at a conference where I was speaking. I never imagined I would still be writing it 16 years later. It is remarkable that I have sat down at a computer 800 times on a Sunday night (except this week), and something was always in my mind and heart to write about. I have had many people subscribe and unsubscribe, and readers have written from all over the world to tell me about what they have learned as they read. If my math is correct, I have only missed two Memos per year for 16 years -- not too bad for a busy man.

Every year, I decide whether or not I will continue the Monday Memo for another year. I will announce my decision next week as i reach the milestone of Memo number 800. So what say ye? Do you think I should continue for another year? Let me know what you are thinking, and next week I will share with you from Kenya what I am thinking. Until then, have a blessed week as together we seek the Lord for the future.

    You can post your comments to this entry on the site where it is posted.

798: End of Self 3

Next weekend, I speak in all five services at my local church. We are working our way through the book of Acts, and Acts 5 is up next on our schedule. That contains the rather bizarre and frightening story of Ananias and Sapphira, who died after their encounter with Peter and the church. Their story fits perfectly in to the series we have been looking at the last few weeks, so I thought I would use some of my notes for next week for this Memo.

We have been talking about the end of self, not really being the end but the beginning. The end of our self-willed self life opens the door to our God-assigned self life that includes our purpose, creativity, and personality. The statement that I will make in my message next week is that God cannot change us into the person we are already pretending to be.

Ananias and Sapphira conspired to misrepresent who they were, how generous they were, and how committed they were to the cause of God's kingdom. They sold a piece of property, and let's assume they sold it for $10,000. Then let''s assume they gave $8,000 to the church, but instead of saying that they gave 80% of the proceeds, they falsely indicated that they gave it all. Their sin was not holding some of the money back; their sin was pretending to have given it all when they had indeed kept some, thus lying not to Peter, but to the Holy Spirit.

In a sense, the couple were trying to find themselves, but they had not come to an end of themselves, pretending to be who they felt God wanted them to be. Instead of allowing God to change them, they played make-believe that they were already there. They acted like money had no hold on them, when indeed it did, but they were afraid to let anyone know that. So they carried out a charade, a fantasy skit, and it cost them the very lives they were trying to preserve, protect, and promote.

Where are you pretending to be someone you are not? Where are you faking it, but you have gotten so used to faking it that you believe the fake to be true? Yes, I should be obedient and act like I love a person who is difficult for me to love. But at some point, I have to say, "God, I cannot love this person. You have to help me. You have to change me. You have to love that person through me. I open my heart for You to change it." If I don't do that, I run the risk of becoming a good actor, but a poor disciple. I can actually believe I love that person when in my heart, I feel the opposite.

You may ask: How does this tendency to play act impact my purpose and creativity? If you are acting like you know your purpose when you really don't, you are pretending to be who you are not. If you are acting like you are a creative person and just don't create because you don't have time—when the fact of the matter is that you are terrified of your creativity—then you are play acting.

Now the good news is that in all probability, what happened to Ananias and Sapphira is not going to happen to you, for they were made examples for us all to learn from. But the lesson is clear from their story: When you pretend and live a lie, You are not dealing with flesh and blood. You are dealing with God, and it's important that you not pretend to be who God wants to change you to be. For the rest of my message, be present or tune in next week to hear the message live or by video recording.

793 - Permission Granted

There was no Monday Memo last week, not because there was nothing to say (my wife says I am never at a loss for words), but because I was redirecting those words to the book projects with which I have been involved as writer, co-writer, or editor. There are so many good ones that will be released through my publishing company, Urban Press, in the near future. In the meantime, here is a synopsis of the personal projects I have been working on.

1. Last week, I re-released the first book I ever wrote, Life is a Gold Mine: Can You Dig It? I did almost a total rewrite except for the last section on faith, which stayed intact. I removed one of the Gold Mine Principles, replaced it with the concept of creativity, updated many of the stories and examples, and of course revised the cover. You can order it through Amazon in paper or Kindle format, or you can get it from me for only $10.
2. Earlier in January, I released the third in my Live the Word Bible Commentary series, this one focusing on the gospel of Mark. I released the Matthew and Acts volumes last year, and hope to have the gospel of John and Paul's prison epistles volumes out in 2017. Mark's commentary is also available in Kindle or paper.
3. I am working to reformat my daily devotional A String of Pearls; Wisdom for Productive People and re-release it as the Life is a Gold Mine Daily Devotional, probably in April 2017.
4. I plan on releasing a Life is a Gold Mine Deluxe Edition later this year. This book will contain a great deal more information on the Gold Mine Principles from other work I have done so that the reader can access it all in one place.
5. I removed the the devotionals related to organization from A String of Pearls and will release all of them in a 60-day organization devotional that will be a supplement the Gold Mine Devotional.
6. I collaborated on a book with my friend Dr. Jim Dittmar entitled A Leader Carol, which is a fable fashioned after the story found in Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The main character is the CEO of a family business who loses his way, but receives some supernatural help to get things back on track. This is my first venture into fiction and it was great fun, but the book also teaches important leadership lessons. This should be out in April.

Right now, I am working on four or five other books as an editor, and we are just now catching up with our Urban Press website to include all the books we published in 2016. I will let you know when that's updated.

When I gave myself permission to admit that I am an author, my creativity and productivity took a quantum leap. What identity are you resisting? What could you do if you admitted that "This (whatever the this may be) is who I am and what I was created to do!" If I can help you make define and make that declaration, please let me know.

789 - Creative Christmas Collaboration

Many of the men who wrote the carols of old were theologians who had a deep grasp on the significance of Jesus' birth. If you go past the first verse of some carols, you hear some magnificent truths about Jesus and the implications for mankind of His coming. One of my favorite hymns is Hark the Herald Angels Sing, which I never tire of listening to.

WHO WROTE IT?

All credit for Hark the Herald Angels Sing is usually attributed to Charles Wesley, the brother of Methodism's founder, John Wesley. Charles was a prolific song writer, with almost 9,000 hymns to his credit. Charles only employed sombre, slow and solemn music for his lyrics, however, so this particular carol was sung to a tune other than we know today for at least 100 years after it was written in 1739.

In 1840, a man named Felix Mendelssohn wrote a commemorative cantata to honor Johann Gutenberg's invention of the printing press. What does that have to do with this carol? Nothing except that a man named William Cummings heard the cantata and felt that one of the melodies could better serve the magnificent lyrics that Wesley had penned for Hark the Herald. Cummings adapted Mendelssohn's melody to Wesley's lyrics and the result was the version of Hark the Herald Angels Sing! that we know and sing today. So Hark the Herald is the result of a century-long creative collaboration by three men who never met over a period of 100 years!

CHRISTMAS CREATIVITY

This strikes me as a classic example of the simplicity and interconnection of the creative process. Your creativity doesn't have to involve something completely new or original. Cummings took two existing things—Mendelssohn's music and Wesley's words—to create something new once again. He improved something that already existed to create something fresh that has impacted the world for more than a century.

As we end 2013, I am planning my creative expressions for 2014, which include a Purpose Bible, my next book, a new daily devotional, and starting a publishing company. I am a creative person, and so are you! The ideas you have can change the world, if you will stop discounting them as meaningless or insignificant. You don't have to invent something totally new to qualify as creative; you just have to act on your ideas and release them to the world. With God as your agent, the world will then act to endorse the very creativity that you may be dismissing or taking for granted.

Do you have any good ideas, even if they are only to improve something that already exists? If you do, take heart and remember Wesley, Mendelssohn, and Cummings. Those three men who never met collaborated to create something memorable. There is no reason why you and I can't do the same.

    Feel free to post your comment to this Memo on the site where it is located.

*****

ISRAEL TOUR: My proposed tour to Israel is coming together and looks like it will happen in November, 2017. If you are interested, please write me at [email protected], and I will keep you in the loop on developments. You will have to register and pay early in 2017 in order to be assured of space, so you cannot wait. Plan now and give yourself a special Christmas gift you will never forget.

COMMUNICATIONS CLASS: I will begin a Saturday morning Church Communications class here in Pittsburgh starting January 14 that will run through April. We will cover writing, social media, and other communications strategies that are appropriate and necessary for faith-based organizations. Cost for the class is $250 plus books. Write me at [email protected] if you are interested.

KENYA CHRISTMAS: The orphans in Kenya need your help this Christmas. Read my latest update and then give as your heart tells you to do, either through my website using PayPal or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you!

787 - Too Late

I was working on my next book this morning, and I came across something I wrote a few years ago about waiting and creativity. It struck a chord in me, so I thought I would share it with you this week.

********

I ran across a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. a few years ago that impacted me deeply. Before I share that quote, however, I want to share a passage from Isaiah that people recite and even sing to me regularly (it was put to music years ago). It is their life philosophy and approach to missions, creativity, and taking action in general, and it reads like this in the NAS Version:

"He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary" (Isaiah 40:30-31 emphasis added).

A CLOSER LOOK

The key phrase in that passage for many is "those who wait on the Lord." The implication is that if you are going to serve the Lord, you need to wait, sort of like you wait for a bus or taxi. There is only one problem with that philosophy. Everything else in that passage speaks about taking action, not waiting. It speaks of strength, flying, running and walking. Those who are waiting aren't do any of those things, but the entire context of the passage is God giving strength to those who "wait." I would propose that those who wait don't need the strength; they need the patience.

The NIV for once is more accurate in its translation of the word "wait," for the NIV states, "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." Insert that phrase back into the longer quote above, and you will see there is a big difference between hoping and waiting. Most already have the waiting down pat. I want to be one who hopes as I run, fly, and walk, and I hope that we can run together toward our purpose and creativity. 

THE QUOTE

And now for the quote from Martin Luther King's speech "Beyond Vietnam," delivered on April 4, 1967 in New York City. I will offer no commentary on his closing comments. I trust you to draw your own conclusions and make the necessary adjustments in your life and work to make adjustments for what he said:

We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood—it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, "Too late." There is an invisible book of life that faithfully records our vigilance or our neglect. Omar Khayyam is right: "The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on."

I urge you to engage your "moving finger" this week and write (or whatever your creative expression is). Once you have written, it's then time to move on—to your next creative project! Have a great week!

768 - Fear Review

I received two emails from people who are considering enlisting my services as a writing coach. Both emails were filled with fear as the people shared their fear of writing about themselves (fear of pride), of paying for the services (fear that God will not provide), and of whether their material was good enough to publish (fear of failure and inadequacy). One email talked about how it took all week to follow up on our initial correspondence due to "cold feet."

I have written in the past that the creative process is fraught with fear from beginning to end, and my experience of working with creative people the last two years has done nothing to change that conclusion. I am no longer surprised when I find fear in my own life, but instead I go looking for it, sort of like conducting a search-and-destroy military mission. I know my enemy is in there somewhere; I just have to find out where in my thinking my fear and shame are hidden and camouflaged.

Why are we so riddled with fear? There is a biblical answer and it's found in Genesis 3:7-10:

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Adam and Eve were afraid and ashamed of being exposed, so they hid from God. It's ludicrous for them to think they could hide from God, but they tried, and you and I try to hide as well. Adam and Eve covered themselves with fig leaves - flimsy coverings that would wither and die in a day or two - but we use flimsy excuses to hide our fear and shame. Those excuses sound quite rational, but they are nothing but fig leaves in our minds to mask the terror we face when we consider doing something creative or new.

You may be nodding your head in agreement as you read this Memo. Yet, you can be in agreement and still be steeped in and paralyzed by your own fears, denying their existence. Or perhaps you have learned to manage your fears by sticking to the beaten path of life, careful not to veer off into the jungle of the unknown, where you have never been before. Until you take that path less trodden, you won't have to face or even be conscious of your fears. What's more, if you can wrap your fear in spiritual-sounding excuses, phrases like, "It's not the right season," or "The Lord hasn't released me," or "I am waiting on a confirmation," then you can comfortably learn to live with your fear, convinced that it is God's will that you be content with your daily routine, medicating your mind with thoughts of what you will do "one day."

My dear friends, this is the day that the Lord has made. You are not guaranteed tomorrow, so I urge you to face your fears today and move forward. We are children of Adam and Eve, and we all must take steps to emerge from the bushes of fear and shame so we can show forth the fullness of the glory that is ours in Christ. If we don't take those steps, then we will live a life far below what God had in mind when He sent Jesus to die for our sins. The choice is yours: How will you choose to live today?

761 - Creativity Mandate

We have looked at Israel's history in Egypt the last few weeks. This week, let's look at a story from the Wilderness as the Jews made their way into the Promised Land. In Exodus 31, the Lord was giving Moses instructions of how to construct the Tabernacle that would be the focus for Jewish worship during their journey:

Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent—the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand—and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you" (Exodus 31:1-11).

I have written about this passage before when we have discussed creativity, but let's look at this passage again from a different angle. You can see that God gave Bezalel and his colleagues great creative ability. My question to you concerning their creativity is this: Was their creativity optional, or was it their job, even their duty, to create? A second question is: If Bezalel and company had not created, would they have been disobeying the Lord? (Obviously, they would have been disobedient not to work on the tabernacle, for God commended it, but I am talking about being creative in general, practicing and honing their creative skill over time.)

I ask those questions because some people treat their creativity as a hobby, something they will do when their real work allows. They will "get to it" when the kids are grown, or when they are under less pressure, or when circumstances are right. People with this attitude believe that it is the Lord's responsibility to make time for them and to create the circumstances that will allow their creativity to flow and flourish. If they get to it, fine, but if not, it's no great loss.

The answers to these questions are important, for they will help put creativity in its proper perspective, that it is not just something to be pursued as a side interest but to be taken seriously. The other interesting point about Bezalel et al. is that their creativity would not be seen by many people, for the tabernacle was the work place of the priests, and the Holy of Holies was only seen by the high priest once a year. God did not assign just any artisans to work on what He would see; He assigned the best. God has every right to have you produce creative expressions for no one else but Him - not for sale or for the literary or artistic pleasure of others.

How do you view your creativity? Is it front and center in your life, or is it a side show? Do you work to make it better, or have you left it in its raw, primitive form? Do you see it as a mandate from the Lord, or something that you take or leave it at your discretion. I have made the choice to embrace mine as God-given, and have given it a place of priority in my daily life. I encourage you to answer the questions I have posed this week and see if God wants you to join me in the life decision that I have made. Have a great week!