Dark and lonely

It’s a tough world out there!

I know not everything I write is for everyone. I know some artists who have found a group of people and/or a church where they are given space and encouragement to be the artists they are. They are not looked down upon. And maybe even admired for working in the arts. I know there are more churches today than even ten years ago that believe the arts are an integral part of our being. Little of what I say will have much, if any, relevance for these people. I’m okay with that.

I am actually encouraged by that. There were a lot of dark days where it seemed everyone and his brother was trying to expose how rock music is from Satan and his demons. How Modern art is degenerate. How every fantasy book, even the one’s written by Lewis or Tolkien were actually going to turn us all to witchcraft. I remember sitting in a congregation hearing a pastor praise God that his sons did not want to partake of the evils of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

REAL Christians work!

If you’ve never encountered these believers before, count yourself blessed by God. If your church and church leaders are the opposite of these caricatures, please, please, please realize the gift God has given you. If you have never had your pastor throw this verse in your face,

1 Timothy 5:8, But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

… because you have chosen to make your living in the arts, God has sheltered you for a reason. If you have never had to hear a Christian say something like “Oh, I used to be an actor. But that was ‘B.C.’, before Christ! Ha, ha, ha!” God has surely given you a place of rest.

And if you care to share what your experiences are and have been, I would love to hear about them and maybe even share them here as encouragement to others.

But please understand, a lot of Christians had to bear the barbs from other Christians and soldier on armed with the conviction that God has them doing what he wants them to do, where he wants them to do it. These artists had to risk criticism and condemnation from believers and co-workers and colleagues. If there are Christians in the field of art discipline where you practice now, understand this was not always the case. A lot of Christians risked actual work, being shunned by the industry they pursued. A lot of Christians were (and still are) told to leave their beliefs at the door when they come to work, if they are even invited to work. In a lot of ways, this is sound advice. Work is about work, not proselytizing or debate.

First world problems!

I know. In a lot of ways this is first world problems. There are people, Christians and otherwise, who are suffering far more than this. But when you are the one touring the world wondering why there aren’t more Christians doing what you do and the Christians you do know don’t believe you are honouring God with your work, it gets pretty lonely. Hope is tough when you don’t even get that “still small voice”. Sometimes it seems even if you are still breathing, it isn’t enough. If this is where you are I leave you with these words from C. S. Lewis from his essay on the Efficacy of Prayer and remember, sometimes God is showing faith in you, too:

It would be even worse to think of those who get what they pray for as a sort of court favorites, people who have influence with the throne. The refused prayer of Christ in Gethsemane is answer enough to that. And I dare not leave out the hard saying which I once heard from an experienced Christian: “I have seen many striking answers to prayer and more than one that I thought miraculous. But they usually come at the beginning: before conversion, or soon after it. As the Christian life proceeds, they tend to be rarer. The refusals, too, are not only more frequent; they become more unmistakable, more emphatic.”

Does God then forsake just those who serve Him best? Well, He who served Him best of all said, near His tortured death, “Why hast thou forsaken me?” When God becomes man, that Man, of all others, is least comforted by God, at His greatest need. There is a mystery here which, even if I had the power, I might not have the courage to explore. Meanwhile, little people like you and me, if our prayers are sometimes granted, beyond all hope and probability, had better not draw hasty conclusions to our own advantage. If we were stronger, we might be less tenderly treated. If we were braver, we might be sent, with far less help, to defend far more desperate posts in the great battle.

Thanks for reading. Say hello! Please write me with your own thoughts or share your own experiences, good or bad. Also, please let me know if I have permission to publish your thoughts.

blogATnatureofthebeatDOTorg

Joe