Humility and Obedience as an Artist

Artists are powerful. Whether they are painters, poets, writers, actors, or musicians, artists wield a power that echoes the creative forces of God. While artists cannot create out of nothing, they do have the ability to recreate reality through mirroring reality in a way that follows the norms of their particular craft.

All humans are artists in that they “are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life: in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece.” (Pope John Paul II, Letter to Artists, 2). Yet, an artist in the traditional sense has a greater focus on creation and creativity in regard to what is beautiful. This does not make the traditional artist a better person than someone who is not a traditional artist, but I believe it does give the traditional artist an extra responsibility; rather than simply being responsible for shaping his own life, the artist can now shape the lives of others profoundly through the work he creates.

I’m not an art history expert, but I know that works of art from the past give insight into the souls of the people who lived during those times; the same is true now. While the art points toward what is within the artist and the people of the time of its creation, I think it also points outward in a sense. Or, at least, it should point outward toward the ultimate Beauty and the true Creator.

That is the task of a Christian artist: to point toward Beauty and God. I think this makes being a Christian artist more difficult than being a secular artist. A secular artist can create his own idea of beauty and simply adhere to that. The Christian artist, on the other hand, has the blessing and burden of the ideal of Beauty already being defined and present. This is a blessing because it is like a compass that guides him. It is a burden because ensuring a work points toward True Beauty necessitates not only knowledge of the artist’s particular craft, but knowledge of True Beauty. I know opinions differ on this, but I think it is extremely difficult to portray Beauty with complete accuracy unless one has a knowledge of God, the Source of all Beauty.

All of this is to say that being a Christian artist is challenging. Sometimes it seems entirely impossible to balance meeting the demands of a particular art form, while also recognizing when certain rules should be broken, while also ensuring the work is True, while also trying to listen to God’s voice and figure out what on earth he wants you to do. And let’s not even get started on making money as a Christian artist without turning your works into mere products. (I hope to write a post on that one day!)

Not failing in this arduous balancing act would be impossible if not for two graces: humility and obedience.

 

Humility

I’ve come to realize that God likes the impossible. He wanted to make a people more numerous than the stars descend from an old man with a barren wife. He wanted to make a king out of a shepherd boy. And he wanted his Son to be born of a young woman who had taken a vow of virginity. Then, he wanted the first head of his Church to be the man who’d denied him, for one of his greatest apostles to be the man who tried to kill the first Christians, and so on. There are also the saints, like Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who would free France.

God doesn’t plan what is merely possible; he plans what is so outrageously impossible that I would not have blamed Mary if she’d merely raised her eyebrows at the angel Gabriel and asked him to please repeat himself (thank God she did not!).

I think we commonly have two responses when it feels like God is asking the impossible of us: 1) we say that we are too little, too weak, and that what is being asked is downright impossible, or 2) we say of course we can do this task because we are wonderfully holy and skilled. Bring it on, Lord! I’m going to ace this!

Yet, both of those responses have roots in pride. The first says I am such a weak person that even God can’t help me. The second says I am such a wonderful person that I don’t need God’s help (despair vs. presumption, right?). I think we see a better response from people in the bible, the saints, and most of all, Mary:

The response to God asking the impossible is humility.

It’s taken me a long while to understand humility, and the Lord knows I’m a long way from enacting it well. But I love what St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) says about it:

“If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.”

I think that is the key: knowing what you are. As a Christian artist, that means acknowledging the skills that you have, but also acknowledging the skills that you lack. It means acknowledging your strengths while not forgetting about your weakness. I think it means, above all, that we recognize we are creatures loved infinitely by God, but also creatures very prone to weakness and sin. We need God.

That is the grace that I believe we must ask for as Christian artists.

As I’ve written more and more stories over the past years, it’s become increasingly more difficult to put them on the page. As my understanding grows of what makes a good story, my imagination begins to create (what I hope) are better stories. But taking the kernel of an idea, or a fleeting yet glorious image, and crafting it into a well-told story is difficult. Sometimes (okay, most of the time) the thought paralyzes me, as I wonder why this seemingly glorious story idea wasn’t given to a better writer than me.

I’m personally more prone to spiral down into despair in moments like this and become absolutely convinced that I’m going to fail in writing a particular story.

Yet, that is where humility comes in. I must step back and realize that I am not a complete failure of a writer. I must also realize I am far from being the writer I wish I was. Most of all, I must realize I have the greatest Artist as my Lord and Savior. If he asks me to write a story, will he not assist me? If I ask for his grace, will he not give it to me, as he said “ask, and you shall receive” (Mt 7:7)?

So, I believe we have to be very little when we feel tasked to write or create something. Little enough to realize we are not masters of our craft and may very well fail. Little enough to realize that God is great and will assist us if we but ask.

Oh, and that need to ask for assistance becomes such a grace! Our littleness, our weakness as artists becomes an invitation to rely entirely upon God. It gives us reason to throw ourselves at his feet and beg for his mercy and his grace to help us write—beg with confidence, for we know our Father hears us and that his will is good.

If there could be a beatitude for writers, I think it might go like this: Blessed are the artists who struggle to create well, for then they have a greater necessity to hope in the mercy of God!

Of course, prayer alone will not paint your painting or write your book. God’s grace requires cooperation, and so we pray, then we try our hardest and use whatever is in our power to increase our skill in our craft.

 

Obedience

The second grace I believe Christian artists must pray fervently for is that of obedience. As Christians, we are God’s. We have given ourselves to God in Baptism and renew that offering to him day by day. That offering of ourselves includes an offering of our talents, so our ability to create is no longer our own, but God’s to do with as he will.

This is difficult, because we love our own will. Dying to that will is the great struggle of the Christian life, but the greatest joy as we find our fulfillment in God’s will. This daily struggle invades our work as artists.

In many Christian writing circles, especially among younger writers, I’ve seen the question come up a lot of how do I glorify God with my writing? I think all sides of the answer are more than I can tackle in this post, but I’m of the belief that using the talent God has given you glorifies him greatly. If your writing does not break the Ten Commandments or fall into another sin, keep writing! Keep creating! Keep your eyes on God!

But, beyond that, I think it becomes harder when we pray: God, my art is yours. Tell me how to use it for you. What happens next? How can we follow God’s will now, especially if we already know our art is not a sin or a near occasion of it?

That, I think, is when it comes back to prayer. To listening. To begging every day to be led by the Spirit in our works of creation. I’m not equipped to write a post on how God speaks to us, but I know that he does. In Scripture, in whispers in our hearts, in coincidences and conversations with friends. He’s a gentle lover. He will not force anything by shouting his commands at us.

He invites us to go a little further, to listen.

The Holy Spirit moves in ways we don’t understand, but I think if we discern as well as we can, using our reason and the help of those around us, adhering to what we know of his truths, we can follow his voice.

That takes a radical amount of abandon and trust. We may feel strongly drawn to create something that will likely be a failure in the eyes of the world. God will not force us to create it anyway. It’s his invitation and our choice. Obedience takes stepping out in trust, for the wisdom of God is beyond our comprehension.

 

With these tools, humility and obedience, I believe walking the narrow, twisting way of being a Christian artist becomes a little easier. When we recognize our radical need for God and firmly try to submit our will to his, he will lead us. We move forward in our painting, writing, composing, and creating with the words “Jesus, I trust in you” ever in our hearts, with our ears attentive to the voice of the Master Craftsman. 

To wrap up this lengthy post, I would like to share two resources which have been a massive blessing in my life, especially as a Christian artist.

The first is a letter to writers and artists by one of my favorite authors, Michael D. O’Brien. Whenever I get discouraged about my writing and feel like an absolute failure, his words encourage me, and also inspired much of this post.

The second is Pope Saint John Paul II’s Letter to Artists. It’s a beautiful meditation on our calling as co-creators. I highly recommend it to any Christian artist!

Blessings,

K.M.