Creating the Arts for God
Hate evil, you who love the Lord,
Who watches over the souls of His godly ones;
He saves them from the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown like seed for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
Be joyful in the Lord, you righteous ones,
And praise the mention of His holy name.
Psalm 97:10-12
A few years ago, children in our local Homeschool Dramatic Society presented an original play, “The Cross Behind the Curtain,” written by our daughter Mary Evelyn. Based on real events from the 1960s, the play told the story of Christians who suffered for their faith behind the Iron Curtain, including people who took the great risk of homeschooling their children inside the U.S.S.R.
After the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union and many Eastern European countries 30 years ago, the Christian faith grew tremendously. Members of our family once heard lectures about conflict between Russia and the Ukraine. One of the lecturers, who had spent a great deal time in Russia, noted that one of the reasons Russians oppose America is because of the immorality they see in our pop culture.
Hearing about that reminded me of a discussion Ray and I had many years ago with a devout Christian friend who grew up in the nation of Lebanon and is now a very patriotic American citizen. Our friend said that one reason some Middle Easterners oppose America is because of the immoral movies and television programs we export. Imagine what people in other countries think about Americans if all they ever learn about us is through movies and television. There is a great need for Christians to export:
. . . whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute,
if there is any excellence
and if anything worthy of praise . . .
Philippians 4:8
Mozart, Bach, Handel, Beethoven and other great composers created music that honored God. Ray and I have been blessed to visit two art museums with art arranged chronologically, the Art of Institute of Chicago and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. When we got to the medieval period in both museums, we saw piece after piece that had been created to honor Jesus and the events of the Bible.
Why have unbelievers gained so much control over our culture? Let’s find ways to support Christians who are creating (and exporting) what is in keeping with Philippians 4:8. Let’s go to their movies, support their art, and spread the word about their music.
Let’s crowd time for pop culture out of our homes. We can protect children from pop culture evils by filling their lives with what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent, and worthy of praise.
Homeschoolers have a unique opportunity to excel in the arts. They can have time to develop their creative gifts, rather than fitting them in if there is time. Let’s inspire our children to be part of a generation of Christians who excel at whatever gifts God has given them and who honor Him through those gifts. Let’s teach them:
Whatever you do in word or deed,
do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Colossians 3:17
