Q: Are Creative People Weird?
To the untrained eye, the answer would be “yes”.
That’s because highly original people seem odd or strange because we often confront the conventional.
Q: Are Christian People Weird?
To the untrained eye, the answer would be “yes”.
That’s because people that really believe an invisible God can speak to and guide them seem odd or strange because that belief confronts the conventional.
Q: So, what about Creative Christians?
Well, those guys are NUTS!
Here’s where that puts me on the “Weird Meter”:
1. First of all, out of the general population, I’m a Christian. Now, that puts me high on the “Weird Meter” of many!
2. But of the Christian population, I’m also a Visual Artist. That makes me “Weird” among the “Weird”.
3. Let’s not stop there! Of the Visual Artists, I’m into Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Comic art. So that can get really weird!
But here’s what the Word really says about our “weirdness” or being “peculiar”:
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;” 1 Peter 2:9
Initially reading this you may think that “peculiar” is defined as “strange” or “odd”.
But the deeper translation (in the original Greek and even for the English term) is “a people for a possession” meaning a person that literally BELONGS to God.
It means that we are people belonging to God, and to no other.
Yes, creative people may seem a little strange and odd, and I believe that’s the way we are intentionally wired.
But Christian creatives (as with all Christians) are “peculiar” in the sense that we BELONG exclusively to God. We are “peculiar” because we are unlike other creatives…we BELONG to and are at the access of the One that we belong to.
That means that we believe God Himself speaks, sees, and expresses Himself through us, using the very creative talent He placed within us for His use.
And THAT makes us different.
THAT makes us fantastically weird!
What are YOUR thoughts? Post a comment below:
the text made me think and see deeply. God bless u all.
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Of course Christians are thought of as strange or odd types but probably not much different than anyone else out there who is a non-believer. What does make us be percieved as wierd in a negative way is our not truly knowing who we are as a saved people. This happens by being lazy and never activley pursuing spiritual maturity then trying to pass ourselves off as the real deal and the contradictions give rise to all sorts of truly wierd unsavory behavior. Non-beleivers do it too but they often times get away with unusual behaviour because after all legalistic Christianity has raised the bar so high that the conflicted saved soul will manifest outwardly as…, well weird. Only the Holy Spirit can help us harmonize the two aspects of our singular reality which are that the spirtual and the physical are two aspects of the one and same reality. Non-beleivers practice the same however for them its often viewd as two aspects, two realities i.e. for the awakened soul we are always spiritual and we are always experiencing life in this very physical body. This was/is Gods ministry of reconcialition and at the heart of The Lords prayer “His will be done… where? on earth as it is in heaven. The prophet Isaiah walked around naked for 3 years, uh, would you say this would be seen as wierd in this day and age? However a non-believer can walk naked in a very public parade and yet no one will bat an eyelash. No don’t fall for the lies of the enemy remember these are the days when what is good is seen as evil and what is dark is accepeted as the light. The gift of the Christian artist taken to a logical and biiblical conclusion is the gift of the prophetic. Thank God in His infinite wisdom He isn’t calling us out to displays of public nudity, however “it’s the principle we should take heed to. Artist look at all the prophetic visuals in the bible and don’t downgrade yourself for having an imagination and if you have an actual vision from God then you might even be tempted to think you are going crazy if spiritual discerment is lacking in your walk.
Thanks for the reply, Yzdom.
Forgot to add that we’re weird in the secular world cause A) we’re artists and B) we bring Jesus with us into that weirdness. We use our strangeness to show the world, remind them, of the truth of God, and they hate that. So we’re labeled strange and hated.
*sigh* Yes, very true article. 1 Peter 2:11-12 says : “Dear friends, you are like foreigners and strangers in this world. … Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again.”
So if you go further with the chapter the additional scriptures back up more of what the original post author is saying. Our art, using it for good and not evil, using for God’s glory, are part of “… the good things you do…” and our art will aid in people giving “… glory to God on the day when Christ comes again.”.
One complaint, and that’s part of my sighing above, is that Christians are doubly weird not only in the secular world but also, still, in the Church. Christians are considered dangerous, still, as they’re not controllable. We create a grey area with all the black and white stuff going in in the Church world and the secular world too. Or we drag grey-ness INTO the Church world, causing there to be questions, and the old die hards don’t like that. I’ve had to defend tattoos and rock music and video games to older ladies in my prayer group and it’s hard cause I love these women but they’re a big example of this black and white thinking. And it’s not just older vs younger people.
Artists in general are just plain weird and they get used and abused , then dropped when done, by all sorts of people for their own purposes be it political or religious or what have you. Society sees artists as a force that can’t be controlled and that’s scary. Top that with “I heard from God and this is what I created from that”? Mind explosions everywhere! Lol!
So,yeah, we’re extra weird. It’s a lonely place at times but I’m glad that God’s given many of us these artistic gifts as the world would be SO BORING without them and us!
I agree with Jacqui that we do need to support each other. Being artistically minded many of us feel more and see more as God’s made us sensitive to things which can be a blessing if we’re guided by and walking with Him or it can be awful if we’re not. Our complaints and desires and how we see and think is just different than, say, the math and science minded. Does this make us better? No, just different. Different gifts have different needs.
Yes!! That’s why we need to stick together and encourage each other!!
Amen!! Great reminder. That’s extremely true. :]
Thanks!
Feel free to pass it on!
Tony-
I could not agree any better. Yes, I am weird. Yes, I am a Christian; and very proud of it. It’s good to know that there are others just like me.
Welcome home, Mia!
We may be different (set apart) but we must be relatable! The last thing we need to do is fortify the walls people surround themselves with. We must love them out of bondage and we can only do that if they can relate to us somehow.
PS: Fantastic drawing by the way! Had to rub my eyes a few times. LOL
That wasn’t me this time…but I’m trying to find the artist.
I like that, Christine… “relatable”. Otherwise we’re just ineffective and “spooky”!
Exceptionally true. We should remain humble, not superior to non artistic people too.
I’m glad that you pointed out what peculiar means!! I would urge you to stop using word “weird” though as in Webster’s 1828 dictionary it ONLY means “pertaining to witchcraft”. I really don’t like it when someone calls Christians weird—actually that is an oxymoron. But we ARE peculiar—belonging to God and to Him only.
Cheryl! Thanks for pointing that out (Webster’s 1828 dictionary definition of “weird).
Of course, I used the term from the more contemporary definition (“fantastic; bizarre as in ‘a weird getup.’”), but I am now mindful of the supernatural association you point out.
Thanks again!