The Value of Being Creative

The Lord said to Moses, "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft." Exodus 31:1-5 ESV

I want you to for just a moment draw a birdhouse. You can either do it in your mind or grab a piece of paper and do it quickly. Then, I want you to give a piece of paper to a 4-6 year old and ask them to draw a bird house. Unless you are artistically inclined, there is a good chance that the birdhouse that you drew was a simple shape. Most likely a squared off bottom with short eves and a circle in the side for a door. It probably took you less than 15 seconds to draw.

Now, look at the child's drawing. If that child is anything like my kids, I imagine that it is going to be done with lots of colors, designs, a patio out front, and a swimming pool or swing set in the yard. If you ask them about what is on the inside they will proceed to tell you about the floor plan with the bedroom on one side, and all of the kitchen appliances in that little bird kitchen. There is a good chance that they might just scrap the paper and go straight to work on a 3D model made out of Legos.

Think for a moment about why your child's design had so much more detail than yours. Why is it that the child has an imagination greater than our own? It is most likely because as we have gotten older and life, work, and education has beaten the joy of creativity out of us. We live in a world that has an expectation for everybody to come to the same conclusion, at the same time, in the same way as everybody else.

Our public education system is really horrible at this. Standardized tests, cookie cutter approaches, the “one size fits all” teaching methods, etc. all lead to the suppression of creativity. It is creativity that we as homeschool families have the opportunity to foster and develop in our children. It is that creativity that we need more of in life.

When The LORD gave Moses the instructions for building the tabernacle in the wilderness, he told him to get Bezalel involved in the project. Bezalel was a master craftsman who was an expert artist. The Bible says that God was the one who put that artistic ability in him. Part of being made in the image of God is our ability to create. Fostering that creativity in your child is vital.

When kids ask me what it means to be made in God's image, I ask them these questions. Does a cow play guitar? Does a dog bake a cake? Can a cat paint a picture? The kids always roll their eyes at me and say “NOOO!” I explain that is exactly the point. Mankind is the only creature on earth that gets to share that creative nature of God. God created us to create. When God put Adam and Eve in the garden, He showed them His garden and then gave dominion of the earth to them. He did not tell Eve how to arrange the flowers, or tell Adam how to build something out of the trees. He created them with the ability to create. Adam and Eve had the ideas and there was no right or wrong way.

This is why it is so important to let kids have the freedom to create. Setting aside time to allow kids to develop the skills that God created them for. Just like Bezalel had that ability fostered in him that we read about in the Bible. Bezalel did not become a master craftsman instantly. It took him years to develop his artistic ability. As a result of his work in mastering an art form, God chose him to be His interior designer.

Our kids are growing up in a world where AI art, AI music, and AI writing are bombarding them at every turn. The world is teaching them that there is no value in being creative. The more our kids are detached from that ability to create, the more we detach them from the purpose that God designed them for.

Art can take many forms, but all of it requires imagination. It is when we allow our kids to create, that we open the door for God to work in them. God did not create us to be robots that spit out answers. He designed us to share in His nature of creative ability. When we create, we come closer to the One who created us.

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