Do Not Use Your Gift for Evil
Well, duh, of course I’m not going to use my gifts for evil! What do you take me for??
No, no, I absolutely understand. This seems like “Christian Creativity 101”. Actually, even more basic than that, it seems like “Christianity 101”. As people who are seeking after God’s heart and want to diligently obey Him, not using our gifts for evil seems almost painfully obvious. However, we are not perfect by any means. We are broken little humans who have a tendency to commit evil every chance we get, barring conviction from our own conscious and the Holy Spirit. In essence: we mess up. A lot.
It is therefore really, really important that we know what it looks like to “use our gifts for evil” (hint: it doesn’t always involve maniacal laughter and mustache twirling in dark shadows of an evil lair). Then we know when to repent and how to course correct.
Any time we create something God has expressly told us not to create, or are creating out of a heart that is not directed toward God and His Kingdom, we are creating “for evil”. This includes but-is-not-limited-to obvious and blatant sins, like promoting hate and murder, depicting graphic sex, cursing, and nudity, promoting idolatry and the worship of false gods, promoting greed, covetousness, or lust, or any other pretty obvious sins. However, this also includes not creating in the way God has instructed YOU, specifically as well as creating out of your own pride, to elevate yourself above others.
For the most part, God gives us a lot of free will in our creativity. He’s the one who gave us the talents, nurtured our skills, and gave us the resources, upbringing, or testimony required to get the job done. How the projects He sets before us are actually executed are more often than not up to us with a bit of His wisdom sprinkled in. However, sometimes God has a very specific creative path He wants us to follow; whether in terms of our creative careers or in terms of an individual project. Deviating from that — even with our own good intentions — is creating “for evil”. It is creating for ourselves, rather than being obedient to God. Not everyone gets these heavenly directives in their creative careers, but to those who do, it is really, really important to be obedient.
In a similar way, creating out of our own pride or desire to elevate ourselves is also “creating for evil”, since it is taking God completely out of the picture. Whether our project is obviously Christian in nature or not, we should always have in the back of our minds the fact that we are creating for the Kingdom of God, not ourselves. The point of all our projects, skills, abilities, etc. is to glorify HIM and build up HIS Kingdom, not establish ourselves as a kind of king or queen in our own little creative kingdom!
So, how can we combat these tendencies both the obvious sin and the less obvious sin? First of all, we can offer our projects up to the Lord, to do with what He wills. In essence, we surrender to His good plan and wisdom. This doesn’t mean we lose any of the fun or suddenly have to write hyperclean, cheesy Hallmark romances (unless you feel called to do so! But there is plenty of room in Christian media for pretty much all storytelling types). It just means that we reorient ourselves to creating things that uplift the Kingdom of God. An easy test of this is to look at your story and ask — both yourself and God — “is this glorifying to Him?”
Now, one thing I do want to clarify: just because a project depicts sin, does not mean that it is inherently sinful. Creating for the Kingdom of God doesn’t mean that all we can create is sunshine and rainbows. If you are called to create that, by all means, do! But just because a project displays sin does not mean it is promoting sin. Learning the different will make a huge difference in your journey as both a creative and a Christian who enjoys the media of others!
Putting it Into Action
Have you felt convicted to follow a certain path for a project or your career? Now is the time to repent, surrender, and walk in obedience with God! If you are unsure whether or not a project you have been working on is glorifying to God or promoting sin, take some time this week to analyze your heart and the intentions behind your project. Are you seeking to depict sin in your project so that you can reveal God’s goodness, righteousness, justice, or morality? Then you are probably good! Are you creating a project that promotes sin, showing others how glamorous it is to be in rebellion or demonstrating that sin will “get you what you want”? Now would be the time to repent and seek God’s will for your project.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
