We all know the fruits of the Spirit. At least, those who have some familiarity with the church have probably heard about the fruits of the Spirit. Maybe you even know a song or two! The idea is that if you are someone with the Spirit then there are certain “fruits” that naturally grow out of you–there are certain behaviors and choices and ways of living that spring forth from your connection with God.
There are so many ways to cultivate these fruits of the Spirit the first being, of course, to connect with the spirit. But assuming we have that part down, there are a variety of practices that can help us tap into the spirit a little bit better in different areas.
I for one struggle with patience. It’s one I have to practice–and practicing patience is very obviously an act that takes a lot of patience. It’s not something that just pops into your life, but it is something that comes with time and testing.
Creative projects can work like liturgies guiding us in the development of the fruits. As we dive into whatever kind of creative work we are involved with, we each get an opportunity to practice some of these fruits. If you’ve noticed that some of your spiritual fruit is not quite as ripe as others, maybe you can use a creative activity you’re already involved with as an artistic outlet to grow closer to the person God wants you to be.
The Creative Fruits of the Spirit
For this article, I’m going to go through each fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23 and discuss how you can foster that attribute with creativity.
Love. Depending on how we define “love” determines exactly how creativity can cultivate love. An obvious meaning of “love” is a positive way of treating and valuing others. So how does creativity help us love other people? One way is through the stories that we create and the characters we bring to life. Most stories are not set in a pre-fall Edenic world. In other words, there are characters that are less than perfect–to say the least. Being people that seek to tell true honest stories means that we have to admit that even the imperfect character–yes, even the bad guys–don’t neatly fall into the category of objectively evil. Through the psychological exploration of a character’s fictional mind as we seek to present them as honestly and graciously as possible, we can show love to our enemies. In whatever kind of medium we use, we should seek to tell the truth about our enemies, about the people on the margin, and about anyone. It can be an act of love if we see them for what they are, a human being, and not just a character on a canvas.
Peace. Many people experience restoring peace from art. There can be something so calming about sitting down working on a project, letting your imagination fly as fingers click-clack of the keyboard or a brush sweeps across the paper. Art restores us to a state of tranquility by focusing us toward Beauty. It allows us a moment or two without distractions. Just you and the piano keys, the clay, the pen, or even the spreadsheets. Hopefully, art gives us clarity so we come back charged refreshed and a whole lot more peaceful in our interaction with the world.
Patience. We must wait for the paint to dry before continuing. There is certainly quick art, but the greatest masterpieces take time. They take an extraordinary amount of patience on our part. Slow art teaches us to slow down so that we don’t miss the trees in the forest. Patience grows as we see the world as it is meant to be, not just as colors and lines as we zoom on by. Creativity teaches us patience.
Image from here.
Kindness. Innovation is so often found at the intersection of two different ideas. It’s amazing what a little kindness on the part of one idea to another does to create something new. But creativity challenges us towards kindness more than just in the creation thing. We also learn kindness towards ourselves and other creators. It’s easy to criticize the work that we create that we breathe life into and bleed for. We are our own worst critics. But over time the true masters learn to give themselves some kindness, some grace. And hopefully, we extend that to others. We know what it is like to put our life and soul into something, which should ideally urge us to act with extraordinary kindness to the other creators around us.
Goodness. That which is beautiful is good. Beauty finds its meaning because of its innate goodness. Not all of our art might be happy and cheery, however, as Christian creators our light always shine through. We might not outline the whole gospel message in our art but we can give a glimpse of the gospel. When the heroes triumph over evil, a character transforms, or when the music offers a note of hope we display goodness in our creations. Even when the creations aren’t our best work, being a creation by one who follows the one and only Creator who has endowed us with creativity – the goodness gets through.
Faithfulness. Many of us have experienced a mentor, coach, or boss who came alongside us and faithfully walked alongside us. Though of course, even the best examples from our lives don’t pale in comparison to the faithfulness of God. God’s faithfulness spills out into our lives and prompts us to be faithful in turn. So in our creations, we can demonstrate faithfulness similar to what God has demonstrated through the continued practice of the craft and service to others. If this is the path God has called us down, then we better keep at it and not give up the moment it gets hard. The fruit of faithfulness means that we keep going even though we aren’t sure of how God’s plan for us will end.
Gentleness. As mentioned, earlier art often takes time to make right. But it also requires a delicate touch. Story creators need to have a unique eye for what is really going on in the world in order to tell stories with depth and meaning. The greatest musicians arrange every note deliberately. Painters make every stroke count. As we approach our creations with the utmost gentleness, may it form in us a spirit of gentleness for all creation. Scripture says we are all works of art by God. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT). We must “Handle With Care” such extraordinary pieces of art–every human being. Don’t put your fingers on the glass, don’t get your body oils on the canvas–our relationships with others should be defined by the same gentlessness as we approach our art.
Self-control. Creativity can easily be something to indulge in. One can be gluttonous of art or in entrepreneurship or the next big idea. But the creators that end up creating works of genius had self-control. Creating is about saying “no” to some opportunities. It’s about restrictions and limitations in order to create an environment best suited for your work. An actor must resist the urge to break character for the greater purpose of the production. The poet has only so many lines to communicate the truth. Though there is so much freedom in art, good art often comes after we exercise self-control when we impose some limitations on ourselves. As we develop self-control through art, we can transfer that skill to the people around us. As we learn to prioritize that which is right and to not indulge in the easy temptations that throw us off the mission, we narrow in our purpose to glorify God by controlling our impulses.
“There is no law against these things!” (Gal. 5:23 NLT) Paul writes after describing the fruits of the spirit. There is no law against these because they are so great–they are trademarks of our witness in the world. But these fruity trademarks don’t always come easy. But lucky for us, the arts, creations, projects, and businesses we are already working on can become great opportunities to cultivate these virtues for the sake of the Spirit. Creativity is not a traditional spiritual discipline but it incorporates practices that are virtue forming, liturgical, and analogous to the real world.
When you create you are not just making something for your hobby or career, but you are making in yourself a New Soul. You get to choose if you will bear the fruits of the spirit or the works of the flesh every time you take a moment to create something new.
