Due to my odd work hours, some renovation work being done at home, and life generally getting in the way, I have not been able to come up with anything worthwhile to write. Therefore I leave you with one of my favourite song verses:
You start a conversation you can’t even finish it.
You’re talking a lot, but you’re not saying anything.
When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed.
Say something once, why say it again?
(Psycho Killer by Talking Heads)
A blog post by Ann Voskamp a few months ago in which she discussed the question of How Christian [women] May Create got me wondering how the process/art/work of creating might look for Christian men? Here are some musings and partly formed thoughts. Feel free to comment and give your own ideas.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
(Genesis 2:15 ESV)
Right from the beginning men were given a job to do. It was a nurturing, cultivating job, also a creative task in that to start with there was not so much weeding to be done in God’s garden so presumably Adam had time to implement a few ideas of his own.
As sons of Adam we create by bending creation to our will. Therefore, the results of our creating reflect both our desire and our skill. This creates a tension and often frustrations as the created reality does not match the plans in a man’s head. Perhaps this is why computer programming is a popular choice for men, in a realm created by humans bending machine code to the will of man is achievable even for men without the brawn to bend metal, timber or earth to their will.
Even after the fall Adam’s work remained the same, it just got much harder to achieve:
And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
(Genesis 3:17-19 ESV)
Under the curse (Genesis 3:22), creation refuses to bow to the will of men. Therefore the strength of a man is necessary to tear open the soil, wrestle raw materials and press on against the elements. By applying wisdom a man creates new and innovative works, and at our best as a team there is no limit to what can be achieved (Genesis 11:3-6).
The prime focus of a man’s work is always provision – even if a man is an artist and has nothing to do with cultivating the ground or making food, the overall goal of his work is to generate income in order to put food on the table. We can work for noble causes and labour to create beauty or make a statement, but once our family starts to go hungry none of that holds any importance (see 1 Timothy 5:8). If providing for his family takes up all of a man he is doing a noble task – I would argue more noble than those of us who can do so by working only 40 hours a week.
Yet there is a limit to how worthwhile the works of a man can be:
What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity. There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, (Ecclesiastes 2:22-24 ESV).
For some men perhaps all they seek is to eat, drink and enjoy the fruits of their labours. But we are created for more, much more than this.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)
To be satisfied with our own work is to settle far short of the best a man can achieve, to live beneath our purpose in Christ. We yearn for purpose, to know that our work is for more than simply putting food on the table. The most effective way to grind a man down is to give him meaningless work that has no point to it and in which he has no choices, especially if the work involves no physical exertion but is simply pushing paper across a desk all day. Only the shallowest of men work only for money, we seek to do work that is worthwhile:
Some men know how to solve crimes, others can heal pain, paint pictures, make violins, train dogs, ride a wave, kick a ball, lay cement, design glorious buildings, make new laws. We need them all. You have things inside you to do. These lie dormant waiting to be expressed. (Steve Biddulph in Manhood
)
We are created for good works that proclaim and glorify His grace. In order to achieve this the will of a man must be redeemed. For me to to the works prepared for me before I even existed I must bow my will to His will. A little created creator must submit to his own creator and say along with my Brother-redeemer, “Your will be done, not mine”.
His will is not obscure or difficult to find, we are to make disciples:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)
And we are to labour to make the Kingdom of God manifest on earth:
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
(Matthew 6:10 ESV)
Image of blacksmith: Hans Splinter
We can be somewhat blind to our own culture as a result of being completely immersed in it and not noticing what is distinctive in the art forms we are so accustomed to. After experiencing a fantastic ballet performance I considered my own cultural heritage and the active work required to maintain art and culture.
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“It saddens me that when kids grow older they sometimes feel embarrassed to perform the dance in public. Boys, especially, say they’re too old to be dressing up and performing. I tell them there’s nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to tradition and culture. We must be proud of what belongs to us. We are Shan, wherever we live in the world” (Dance teacher Mana).
Ram nok king kala
The sleepy hamlet of Ban San Paa Kor in Chiang Rai province wakes as the rhythmic sound of traditional gongs, tom-toms and cymbals fills the air. The atmospheric sounds herald the start of the ram nok king kala (king kala dance) which is unique to the Shan people.Clad in eye-catching costumes that evoke the colours and patterns of peacocks, two performers enthral spectators with graceful and agile steps. The male peacock ostentatiously struts around, displaying his brilliant tail in order to attract the female peafowl who hops back and forth, to left to right. The merriment escalates as two lion dancers show up to do high jumps.(www.shanland.org)
Shan tradition has wonderful festivals: the lunar New Year, Boi Sang Long (when boys enter the monastery as novices), the Water Festival, Buddhist Lent and Ok Pansa to mark the end of Buddhist Lent. Traditionally the ram nok king kala (king kala dance) is performed on Ok Pansa to welcome Buddha back to Earth after his visit to heaven. It also used to be commonly performed in northern Thailand but in recent years has become rare, despite the many thousands of Shan crossing into Thailand to escape the Burma Army.
In Thailand they face a different sort of threat – losing their roots, language, traditions and culture. As illegal ‘migrants’ they must try avoid attention and cannot freely express their identity.
Security issues make it impossible for many Shan to wear their traditional clothes and to celebrate their culture openly. They can be arrested by the police and send back to Burma if they are not careful enough. There is a discourse in the community about preserving culture and at the same time assimilate within Thai society. But how can one assimilate and keep their traditional identity at the same time. (In between Shan culture and Thai society)
The loss of cultural traditions can leave Shan people feeling disorientated, without roots and cast adrift in an unfriendly world. They need a firm foundation to build their live upon again.
For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. (1 Corinthians 3:10-13 ESV)
Autumn tree
This morning I was literally given a beautiful gift, which in my semi-awake, cold-clogged grumpiness I fobbed off, telling a nine-year-old artist to put her offering on the kitchen bench unviewed. I have been thinking, reading and writing lately about seeing the beauty and grace of God and giving thanks to Him for it, yet I wouldn’t even look when directly asked to.
Fortunately her Mum took the time to look, and to listen to the Young Artist’s self-deprecating words, “It’s stupid, I should just throw it out. I’m useless.” The folded work was rescued and is now displayed on our fridge door. Upon finally stopping to look, I too saw the beauty, detail, care taken and conceptual ideas in the picture.
I also considered the Young Artist’s words, “It’s stupid” (I’m no good), “just throw it out” (hide away, don’t reveal myself to the world). Where did she pick this up from? Is this the message I am consistently sending? (It could be). Can I foist all the blame onto catty friends at school? Or is it Satan whispering to her, sowing seeds into the fertile soil of sinful nature, disappointment, discontent, disapproval and disinterest cultivated in her heart by we who surround her?
How does the assessment (whether correct or not) ‘what I have made is not good’ translate into ‘therefore I am no good’? Is it because only God can make anything that is good? (Genesis 1:31) Maybe this is the case, yet God Himself said of sinful men that nothing will be impossible if they work collaboratively so obviously good workmanship is still possible (see Genesis 11:6).
I asked the Young Artist why she thought her work was no good. It turns out that she was reasonably happy with it until seeing what others had done. Then the self-abasement began, “I’m useless, I’m no good at anything.” (Notice the lies Satan uses to pull us down).
It is unwise to compare ourselves with others (2 Corinthians 10:12) but should test our own work, without deceiving ourselves (Galatians 6:3-4). We each have certain attributes and abilities given by God, it is wise to be aware, be realistic and be thankful for what we are (Romans 12:3). In the end it is God who gives skill for artistic endeavours, though there is certainly room for teaching and training to hone these skills (Exodus 35:30-35).
I like the Young Artist’s picture a lot. It speaks to me of the transformation of autumn, the blaze of colour as seasons turn and the output of summer growth reabsorbed into branches, giving a last shout of glory before falling to become mulch for spring buds. In His extravagance God makes the leaves turn brilliant yellow and red, it could have been boring brown.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven
(Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV)
Fallen leaves
