When Christian Artists are Tempted to…
Photo by George Coletrain
“No temptation has overtaken you,” the Apostle Paul wrote, “that is not common to man.” (1 Corinthians 10:13). This verse reminds Christians that we’re not alone in the temptations we face. There are temptations common to college students, common to parents—and common to artists.
But it’s easy to still feel alone, isn’t it? Our failures can compound our loneliness, making our temptations even more difficult to endure. So, my prayer is that this article would encourage Christian artists to fight besetting temptations and remember there’s grace when we fail to. Whether you’re a writer, painter, or musician, my fellow Christian artist, there’s grace when we…
1. Believe God has given up on our art and us.
Inevitably with articles that expose temptations, it’s easy to feel called out. That feeling can be good or bad, godly grief or worldly grief (2 Corinthians 7:10). Regardless, you might see your mistakes and think the fountain of God’s grace has ran dry for you—that you’ve fallen for the last time, and God is done with you and your art.
He’s not. His grace still floods toward you. And that god-glorifying art you’re creating—God prepared it for you to carry out; he prepared our good works for us (Ephesians 2:10).
Christian artist, when we see our failures, remember, there’s grace to help us even believe in God’s grace. There’s also grace when we…
2. Make schlocky art (in the name of grace).
“Schlocky” is just a fun word for cheap. Sometimes Christians knowingly make cheap art because we assume God’s grace frees us from the obligation to work hard. Yet Paul said we ought to work hard at what we do because of whom we work for—God (Colossians 3:23). On this side of eternity, God’s grace frees us from working hard for our salvation or man’s approval but not from hard work.
“Excellent,” rapped Propaganda, “that’s what you should expect from us; least we can do to say thank you for how [God] blessed us.” If I heard him right, Prop said we ought to strive for excellence because our quality of effort expresses our level of gratitude for God’s blessing—a blessing that includes grace for when we…
“While excellence does include some notion of quality, it also includes a notion of faithfulness—of offering your best, not someone else’s best.”
3. Plagiarize and idolize our art.
Instead of making schlocky art, some Christian artists, striving to make something “excellent,” steal someone else’s work and pass it as their own. While excellence does include some notion of quality, it also includes a notion of faithfulness—of offering your best, not someone else’s best.
Intentional plagiarism comes from idolatry—one fueled by a twisted need for perfection. The line between faithfulness and perfectionism is often blurry, especially for type-A artists like me. The deception of perfectionism is that it tells Christians, who are already perfect in Christ, they need something else, like their art, to affirm them.
Yet it’s exhausting to try to get affirmation from something that can’t ultimately affirm you. In his excellent little book, Art for God’s Sake, Phil Ryken writes:
“Art is always tempted to glory in itself, and nearly every form of art has been used to communicate values that are contrary to Scripture.”
Christian artists, our greatest grace is that our glory is the cross—not our art.
“Christian artist, especially you who are unknown, there’s grace for you to remember that God created stars that no one has ever seen.”
4. Think we need a big platform to be effective and/or God-glorifying.
“Comparison is the thief of joy,” said Teddy Roosevelt. In a world of retweets and big Christian conferences, there’s a temptation to think that if our stage isn’t as big as so-and-so’s stage, then we’re ineffective or—to put our doubt in Christian garb—“we’re not glorifying God.”
This temptation thrives on the misconception that bigger is necessarily more glorifying to God, but the Tower of Babel reveals that mindset’s foolishness. We can’t calculate the fruit God will bear from our efforts. The Pharisees in Luke 7 scolded the sinful woman who anointed Jesus because she could have done something “more god-glorifying,” but Jesus made clear that her small act had huge impact.
Christian artist, especially you who are unknown, there’s grace for you to remember that God created stars that no one has ever seen, and they still bring great glory to him, as Shai Linne once said. There’s grace for us to have the freedom to make good art and leave the results to God. There’s also grace when we…
5. See the local church as a peripheral inconvenience.
Christians can make art but art can’t make Christians. We may or may not be called to artistic endeavors, but we’re definitely called to love our brothers and sisters. If we don’t, then we don’t love God (1 John 4:8; Hebrews 10:26).
I’m no expert on the music industry, but in the age of streaming, it seems more musical artists are working independent of established labels.It’s fine to be an independent artist, but it’s not fine to be an independent Christian. My fellow artist, love your local church. Why not lean upon them, ask for their prayers for your work, and see where you can serve them? There’s grace for us to do this, and there’s grace for us when we…
“It’s fine to be an independent artist, but it’s not fine to be an independent Christian.”
6. Avoid suffering for the Name.
I don’t want to get into a long hoopla about being a “Christian artist” vs. “an artist who is a Christian.” The deeper question is whether or not you’re embarrassed to associate yourself with Jesus and his people? The Bible suggests that we ought to rejoice at the opportunity to suffer for the name (Acts 5:41), but we have all been like Peter at times—embarrassed to be named among Jesus (Luke 22:54-62).
Yet there is simply no way around Jesus; that’s why God calls him a “stone of stumbling.” However, God also says, “whoever believes in [Jesus] will not be put to shame” (Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:6-8). Shame is important to consider given Jesus’ warning: “Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26).
Now, some Christian artists’ work doesn’t require words—a classical composer, for example. The question for the composer isn’t whether or not she writes Soli Deo Gloria on her sheet music as J.S. Bach did, but whom she ultimately composes for? And is she happy to be known as one who composes for God? The irony of our fear of man is that Jesus ought to be embarrassed to be associated with us, not the other way around.
The good news is that he’s not reluctant to be with us; instead, he gives grace to restore disciples who falter in fear—grace that also restores Christian artists when we…
7. Assume carnality is more authentic than spirituality.
Ours is a time that endorses the authentic; no phony stuff, just be true to yourself. While some good can come from that mindset, the main problem is that our “selves,” even if we are saved, are still wretched. Our hearts are desperately deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). One deception we may experience is that displaying our carnality is authentic and therefore good or necessary. We should be truthful, yes, but we should also strive to build up others; we’re to expose works of darkness, but are we using our art as means to take part in them—a participation Ephesians 5:12 forbids?
“To err is human” it’s often said, but that’s not true. In heaven we will not err, and we will be the most human we have ever been. Our spirituality is something authentic, something real and lasting—and we ought to use the grace God has given to develop it, the same grace Christian artists have access to when we…
8. Create Prayerless Art
Prayer is a reflection of whom we depend on, and it’s curious that artists who want God to use their work rarely ask him to do so. What I’ve tried to say in eight different ways is that Christian artists have the freight of all of heaven’s grace behind them.
Why not ask God to pour that grace out on your artistic efforts? He’s happy to do so, even when we’re tempted to do otherwise. I’m praying now that God would “bind my wandering art to thee,” and that you would know all grace in your creative work. Amen.
