I do not worship art and artistry. Some of the best art in the world is morally hideous. I’m not preparing to go on a jihad against art, but I also don’t care at all to preserve it. I will shed no tears with the last nude painting by some alleged Master is lost. If you cannot understand how God’s wrath falls on such things, you cannot understand God.
The refined appreciation for what is good and beautiful is not all interested in what God has said and done. Rather, it seeks to tell God what He is supposed to think. It’s just one more expression of the Fall, setting human reason above revelation. It’s another bite of the Forbidden Fruit, insisting that mankind can judge what is good and right without any reference to the Maker.
We are not activists; we make no pretense of changing the world. The world is going to Hell and there’s nothing at all we can do about it. There’s nothing wrong with decorations. They can brighten the moment. It’s part of what makes us human, but the issue is not some false aspiration to human greatness. The issue is expressing the fire God has put in your heart. You can ignore His boundaries for that fire, but the fire comes from Him. You should obey those impulses to decorate, or to appreciate someone else’s decorations.
You should also feel free to not like them. Let no one try to put a guilt trip on you for disliking any particular art expression. There are a great many music acts today I would do my best to avoid. Their sound is annoying noise to me, and I can’t be bothered to explain it to someone who loves their work. If you can’t understand how God could lead me in another direction, I have no reason at all to take you seriously — except perhaps as an enemy, if you start to act insulted by my tastes.
Talent is fine, but show me how it glorifies God. Otherwise I’m not impressed. It’s the same with my writing and even the images from my camera. It’s what God has called me to do, but I’ll be the first to recognize it isn’t for everyone. I’m not doing it for you, or for the sake of some abstract aspiration, but for Him.
Indeed, I cannot be silent. The divine calling is not an option; it’s a mandate. Prophecy does not come at the will of mere men, so it cannot be stopped by their resistance to the message. I will obey His will for me, even if it kills both of us.
