Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Beauty in Work
Emily P Freeman:
Indeed, when God created us, we were created in His creative image. While we are God' beautiful creations, I would argue that there is beauty in a spreadsheet or carpool line or proposal. If we do not see the beauty, then we are not fully tapped into God's plan for us. The world is a beautiful place in all it's detail. It was designed to function beautifully. And all that we create including the mundane and the prosaic should be beautiful.
If it is not then it reflects the sin in us. It is often a question of being able to step back from the immediate situation. Most people, if they choose to, can see the beauty in a functioning gear based clock. There is a similar beauty in an electronic watch, but you have to see, in your mind's eye, the electronics work. And so it goes with most things. The ballet that is air traffic control, for example.
Finding the beauty in the seemingly mundane is not about us so much as it is about stepping outside of ourselves. That takes a deep relationship with Jesus.
beauty self
We would most likely all agree that the work offered by the actor, the singer, and the kindergarten painter is beautiful work, even art.Oh, so close, and yet....
But what about the work of the teacher, the father, or the real estate agent? What about the mail carrier, the babysitter, the lawyer, or the cashier? What about the work you do everyday?
Is the work of the artist beautiful and the work of the rest of us just work?
[...]
“So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27).
God spoke the world and breathed humanity and when he did, he declared that every human was made in His artistic image.
Perhaps art isn’t only for the dancer, the actor, the singer, or the painter after all.
The beauty you have to offer may not be a song or a flower or a dance. And you may not see the beauty in a spreadsheet or the carpool line or the proposal you’ve been working on.
But the true art, the most beautiful kind, is you – worshipful, generous, small you.
Indeed, when God created us, we were created in His creative image. While we are God' beautiful creations, I would argue that there is beauty in a spreadsheet or carpool line or proposal. If we do not see the beauty, then we are not fully tapped into God's plan for us. The world is a beautiful place in all it's detail. It was designed to function beautifully. And all that we create including the mundane and the prosaic should be beautiful.
If it is not then it reflects the sin in us. It is often a question of being able to step back from the immediate situation. Most people, if they choose to, can see the beauty in a functioning gear based clock. There is a similar beauty in an electronic watch, but you have to see, in your mind's eye, the electronics work. And so it goes with most things. The ballet that is air traffic control, for example.
Finding the beauty in the seemingly mundane is not about us so much as it is about stepping outside of ourselves. That takes a deep relationship with Jesus.
beauty self
