What I do find is that how we view our identity in Christ has the ability to facilitate either confident or quenched creativity .
What ’ s going on inside of us affects what ’ s flowing out of us and how . For example , if I am riddled with shame and living in selfcondemnation , I will most likely be operating under such pressure that anything I start to create I will immediately begin to self-critique and edit , stifling creativity and leaving no room for process . If I am living chained to the fear of man , then I am apt to curb my heart ’ s true language out of anxiety of what others may say , morphing into what I think others want to hear ( or what I ’ ve been told they want to ). If I am walking in self-rejection , nothing I make will ever be good enough . If I am holding onto insecurity , perhaps I find myself making creative choices out of the need for affirmation or seeking to be so “ different ” so as to create an identity out of it . It ’ s not to say that we don ’ t all experience these sort of identity battles in our Christian walk — it ’ s the difference of pursuing freedom or abiding in them .
However , when I am living with the awareness of being delighted in by the Father , there ’ s an openness and honesty in my outpouring before Him because I know I am accepted and loved . In His presence , my heart feels free to say , play , sing , write , create the things it desires to because I know He ’ s my safe place and champions my process . There ’ s no pressure to constantly produce or “ get it right ” the first time . I recognize the things God has placed in me and the testimony I carry is important and that God wants to move through it for His glory . I am first and foremost creating unto Him as an offering of worship — unstifled , unhindered . playing music , creating … these are ways in which I pray and process with God .” Me too . I ’ m not suggesting that we must be void of real -life wrestles in order to make art . On the contrary , our vulnerability and the ability to be honest in our craft is what ministers to others and leads ourselves into communion with God .
The condition of our heart matters in the pursuit of authentic creativity , because without pursuing wholeness , we ’ ll only be producing a shallow , masked version of the true voice God has given us . Authenticity comes from the heart . The deeper we dive into becoming who God has made us to be , the more honest our “ sound ” will become . The heart is the canvas upon which the Lord paints . It ’ s where our art is meant to flow from . Therefore , it ’ s important to guard it .
But authenticity is risky , right ? As creatives , we ’ re already well aware that the act of even releasing our work into the world is vulnerable .