The Importance of Art

After semi-slamming the car door shut, I shudder from the chilly air surrounding me. I look up, admiring the black sky and sparkling stars. I sit with a cup of coffee, staring at our little Christmas tree with all the lights and ornaments and things. I take my camera out of its bag to capture the details of nature around me. I get an incredible thrill from sitting in the audience of a choir or instrumental concert (better yet, be in one). I can spend hours journalling or blogging about my life. I craft decorations for my room while sitting on my bed late at night. While blaring my favorite Spotify playlist, I put my canvas on the table, pick up my brush, dip it in the paint, and spend hours gliding on all sorts of colors and textures.

All of that is to say this: I love art. I love beautiful things. I love being creative.

There are times when I struggle with the fact that I'm right-brained. There are times I feel like being an artsy person isn't practical: what's the use in painting? In taking photographs? In designing something? In being an admirer in a museum?

Well, here's some questions: why do some people pay millions of dollars for a painting or piece of art? Why do we buy music? Why do we hire interior decorators to help us with our homes? Why do we love looking at photos of ordinary people or places?

We value things of beauty.

I think it's largely due to the fact that we are created in the image of God. God is the divine Creator, who took care to create everything GOOD. In creating human beings, He called us VERY good. God cares about things of beauty, because He had and continues to have a divine standard for everything He creates. God Himself is good. Because of these characteristics of His, we must possess this aspect of Him also.

God is also a God of logic and order. Things make sense with Him, everything has a meaning. Science, math, etc. are incredibly important to Him because the universe would obviously not run the way it was supposed to if it didn't make sense. (This is my credit to all those left-brainers out there.)

To all my right-brained friends out there, we have been given gifts to appreciate and to make art out of our surroundings. We have an important job to show the world the beauty of God's creation in whatever art form He has gifted us in: music, painting, photography, writing, design, etc. It gives such glory to God. And that is the most important purpose we can have as human beings.

May we never forget that.