Yahweh, the Creator
For, let’s say, 95% of my life, I didn’t really think of myself as a creative person. From a social psychology perspective, we like to think of this thing called self-concept, right? And your self-concept represents how you see yourself. And that’s obviously influenced by lots of things, like various socialization processes, and meaningful life experiences, and other things, but basically, your self-concept represents how YOU see YOURSELF. It’s your inner man, or inner woman, or inner person. It’s who YOU think YOU are.
And for most of my life, my self-concept didn’t really have anything to do with being creative. I’ve mentioned this previously, but my initial exposure to the arts actually began in 8th grade. I got involved with the youth group at my church, and from there, I fell into theatre. And as it turns out, I was actually pretty good, and I performed in various capacities for 4 or 5 years (although I hate calling it performing, because I don’t like to think of things I do for God as a performance, but you get the idea).
And THEN, something… happened.
I got to college.
And when I got to college, I really had to figure out who I was. And that’s a deep, existential type of question, but I think college is a place where you ask yourself deep, existential questions. I’m out of my parents’ house. I’m out of this tiny town that I grew up in. I’m surrounded every day with thousands of other students. And I also think, as a Christian, you’re also keenly aware that most of the people around you don’t really share your views. I mean, to be fair, that was true in high school, too, but I think the difference with college was now you could do whatever you want and your parents can’t really stop you. So, I was CHOOSING to be a follower of Christ, and I was also keenly aware that my views were different from lots of other people, because they were choosing to be someone else.
So, I had to decide really quickly who am I and what’s my life going to be about. And I spent A LOT of time thinking about faith and spirituality during that time, and as a result, I learned two things. First, I think college taught me that I’m a fairly reserved person; I’m probably more introverted than extroverted. There’s something about being around thousands of strangers all the time that, overwhelmingly, brings that to your attention. Now, don’t be confused: I have great communication skills, and in fact, I would describe myself as an exceptional communicator. I also know how to put myself in social situations where I’ll fair better, but if I’m honest with you, interacting with lots and lots of people can be draining for me.
So, sure, I’m a little bit more reserved.
Now, the other thing I learned was that, apparently, I’m a really thoughtful person. And that’s two-fold, right? The first part of that is, I think a lot… I don’t know, that’s just who I am. So, if you think a lot, you’re more likely to be a thoughtful or insightful person, because you’ve spent more time thinking about things. But the other piece of that was the insights I derived based on that thinking. When you’re a child, or when you’re young, you just assume that everybody thinks about things from your perspective… and as you get older, you slowly realize that’s not really the case. I think when I was in college, I just assumed that everybody thinks exactly the way I do. And over time, I slowly realized, that wasn’t really true.
There were dozens of times where I would casually share things in a conversation with a friend, and they would be like, “Oh my gosh, that’s so insightful.” And I would think to myself, “Is it? I just assumed everybody thought that.” I mean, don’t get me wrong, I knew I was smart, but it took me a few years of college to realize that I was making connections that other people weren’t always making.
So, based on that, my self-concept started to change. I mean, it seemed like I was this insightful dude… so, maybe I should try writing… maybe it’ll get some traction. And it’s interesting, because I didn’t really do much performing on stage anymore… instead, I started writing skits and scripts, because the way I saw myself started to change a little bit. It wasn’t a bad thing… it just kind of happened. So, I actually started writing some skits and scripts for performances. They were all pretty short, but I really enjoyed writing them.
But as I progressed through college, again, something… happened. I decided on my fields of study, and I selected finance and economics. And, as you may or may not know, these are quantitative fields of study, and they involve quite a bit of numbers, and formulas, and math. And I think the way I viewed myself started to change, yet again.
People who work with numbers are logical, and rational, and analytical, and structured problem solvers. And obviously, in some ways, these represent stereotypes, but obviously I wanted to take my career seriously, so I just assumed this was who I was going to be. So, my self-concept changed yet again. Now, I’m this analytical problem solver. And as I bought into that idea more and more, I didn’t really nurture that creative spirit very much, because I didn’t really see myself in that way.
To be fair, there’s good reason why that happened, although it definitely shouldn’t have. Far too often in society, when we think of various things, a mental image comes to mind. Our brain is hard wired in that way; it’s part of how we organize information in ways that’s useful for us.
So, when we think of entrepreneurs, a particular mental image comes to mind.
When we think of missionaries, a particular mental image comes to mind.
When we think of doctors or lawyers, a particular mental image comes to mind.
When we think of engineers, a particular mental image comes to mind.
When we think of presidents, or politicians, or orphans, or high school dropouts, or anything else under the sun, there’s a mental image that immediately starts to take shape in our mind.
That is both a good and not so good thing. That phenomenon helps our brain to organize information so it’s more useful and accessible to use. On the other hand, it creates a more rigid pattern of thinking, right? We tend to restrict ourselves to these mental schemas that our mind produces, and we tend not to venture beyond those mental images very much, because it becomes harder for our brain to organize the information it has.
So, once I graduated from college, and began working in Corporate America, that kind of persisted.
When I thought about “creative” people, there were 2 categories of people my mind would come up with.
In category 1, you had people like Beyonce and Drake. These are people who are committed to their craft and clearly have a God-given talent. Their level of brilliance is so undeniable, that you recognize it immediately. They are exceptionally gifted. So, those are literally, like, the top 1% of creative people.
And then in category 2, you have people that are consumed by their love for their own art, or the arts in general, it can be a tad difficult to connect with them. So, maybe someone like Lady Gaga’s a great example. Phenomenal artist… a little bit out there, but she’s an artist, so that’s not unusual or out of the ordinary. But here’s the thing: I didn’t really see myself as fitting in either of those categories or mental schemas. So, I erroneously assumed I must not be a creative person. I didn’t view myself in that way. It wasn’t my self-concept. I didn’t see myself as fitting the mental image I had.
Many years later, I started to realize that many of these mental images I found myself referencing so frequently were absolutely absurd. 2017 rolled around… and by that point, I’d been a Christian for a number of years… I was starting a PhD program… I was on a journey with my Black identity, so I had that going in the background, too… there was a lot going on beneath the surface, and I just felt I didn’t have an outlet for any of it. I hadn’t really written anything in years, but I felt myself aching and yearning to write… there were so many thoughts… so many ideas… so many questions… so many feelings… like, seriously, I couldn’t turn my brain off. I just felt like things were bubbling over inside of me, and I didn’t really have anywhere to put it. I didn’t have a space. I didn’t have an outlet. I didn’t have a medium. I didn’t have any designated opportunities to exercise my creative expression in a way that I found fulfilling.
So, I started blogging… and I wrestled with it at the time, for many of the same reasons that I described earlier. I didn’t think of myself as a blogger. I just didn’t see myself as creative in that way. But I did it, and it’s working out really well. And podcasting really was the same, right? I didn’t really think of myself as a podcaster… I just didn’t see myself in that way; it wasn’t part of my self-concept. But I’m doing that, too, and it’s been really fruitful.
So, I feel like what I’m describing is a journey that I’ve been on concerning how I view myself (that’s my self-concept) and a journey in how I see and think about creativity. And both of those things have fundamentally influenced and shaped how I see God, and I’ll share with you how.
God is creative. I’m made in God’s image. I have the capacity to create.
So, let’s unpack each of those.
We’re going to get existential for a second, but try and stay with me.
Think about it. God is the only being that’s existed since the beginning of time. God. Literally. Created. EVERYTHING. All of it. Every single thing in creation. Now, that’s mind blowing for lots of reasons. One reason why is God had a working blueprint for all of existence. The stars, and the planets, and galaxies, and the universe… ALL OF IT… and the laws of physics that tie it all together in ways that we don’t even fully comprehend or understand. Somehow. Someway. God, in His BRILLIANCE… in His ingenuity… in His creative genius… He came up with all of it. And we can’t even begin to wrap our head around that, we probably never will.
Another reason why creation appeals to God’s creativity is the ONLY creative inspiration that God had was Himself. That’s it. That was His only creative inspiration. The Bible says in the book of John (1:1-3), in the beginning was the word. And all things were made through God. We see the exact same account in Genesis chapter 1, which walks us through creation. The original description of the Earth (vs. 2) is that it was shapeless and void. And then, in verses 3-24, we see Him make the Earth what it is. So, we see His creativity described in a 3 step process.
First, there was nothing. Only God was in existence.
Then, there was something. But it lacked shape. It lacked form. It lacked order. It simply existed… that’s it.
And finally, we see Him bring His creative vision to life over six days. He gave His creation shape, and form, and order. Just like that.
The reason why this is noteworthy is because nothing like this will ever happen again for the remainder of existence. People who create draw inspiration from what’s around them. A conversation they had with a family member… something funny they saw on TV… another artist that they really like and enjoy… in theory, it’s impossible to create in isolation by virtue of the fact that we exist. Seriously. You can’t do that. Whether you’re willing to acknowledge it or not, everything you create for the remainder of your life is partially inspired by experiencing the wonder of God’s creation: existence.
When you start a business, you think of other businesses. That doesn’t mean your business will look the same as there’s, but you know what a business is because someone else created a business first.
When you create a recipe, you think of other recipes.
When you plan a wedding, you think of other weddings.
When you plan a party, you think of other parties.
When you write a poem, or song, or picture, or jewelry, or clothing, or whatever, you think of other people’s creations. We don’t just create out of thin air.
Not so with God. The Bible says there was nothing. And then… God flexed #Godsplan. And just like that, we had everything. And it’s a synergistic combination of complexity, and mind blowing beauty.
Like have you really thought about how complex humans are. Seriously. For most other living organisms in existence, they have a very simple blueprint for their life: self-preservation & reproduction. In other words, most other living organisms have the life goals of reproducing (that’s sexual or asexual) and trying to stay alive. A very simple existence.
But for humans, we have this thing called self-actualization, and it makes us distinct from every other organism in existence. We have feelings, and emotions, and thoughts, and ideas, and we desire truth, and the pursuit of happiness, whatever the heck that means. We desire individuality, and self expression, and we seek answers to questions like who are we, and why are we here, and what’s our true purpose, is there really a creator, and all this other stuff.
And that’s just the psychological things, right? Anatomically and physiologically, humans are REMARKABLY complex. I mean, I haven’t had a ton of courses in the natural sciences, but the musculoskeletal system, and even the nervous system, are mind blowing. Like, seriously, who comes up with this? It’s absolutely fascinating. The design of the human body? It’s absolutely insane.
Yahweh, our creator, is absolutely brilliant.
His creative brilliance is absolutely limitless. And it’s undeniable. Yahweh is a creator. Everything we have is because of Him… in one moment, we had nothing. But His creative vision gave us everything.
So, that’s the first point. God is creative. But here’s the thing: the Bible says I’m made in His image (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 5:1-2; Genesis 9:6). And I love to stress that point, because God is a creator, but humans are the ONLY thing in all of creation that the Bible explicitly describes as being made in the image of God. Maybe that’s why we’re so deep and so complex, because we’re made in the image of God.
But if the Bible says that I’m made in God’s image, that means I’m a creator, too. It’s true. 100%. God is a creative genius, so that means that I can be creative, too. And here’s the thing… that doesn’t depend on your choice of profession… that doesn’t depend on what you majored in while you were in school… honestly, it doesn’t even matter how you see yourself. Because Christianity isn’t necessarily about how you see yourself, it’s about learning to see yourself the way that God sees you. So, if the Bible tells me that I’m made in His image, that means He made me with the capacity to create. That doesn’t mean I’m creating galaxies and universes, because obviously that’s not the case, but we have opportunities every single day to show our artistic or creative brilliance. You may not be super interested in seizing those opportunities, or learning how to build the capacity for creative thinking, or engaging with novel or “outside-of-the-box” ideas, but that’s absolutely 100% something that you’re capable of doing.
I don’t think we’re all equally gifted at that. And I think some of us excel at it more than others. But if you want to create… then go create. You’re a creative genius. It’s in your DNA. And that’s not a testament to how amazing or awesome you are… quite the contrary. That’s a testament to how amazing, and thoughtful, Yahweh, our creator, is.
Just some random thoughts while I’m creating.
Nnamdi