Creativity is more than imagination

Fresh home from our trip to Seoul, my biggest impression was the creativity that I saw. While Seoul is not like Paris or New York in the normal sense of being an art center, creativity is not just about painting and fashion. It is also about making good use of the resources at hand.

We did see some wonderful art (at the International Gallery and the small quilt show), their city design also stands out as good art with thousands of tall apartments clustered in the valleys between low mountains, and an astounding and efficient subway system that is also beautiful. City planners and designers show great creative skills.

Seoul must have an abundance of clay, since most of the city sidewalks are brick or ceramic tiles. The subway is entirely tiled. Their award-winning airport has no carpet; the floors are either tile or wood laminate. Many buildings are metal and glass. The effect is clean, crisp, even modern. They use their resources with wisdom.

Today’s devotional reading is about creativity. It says, “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens; by His knowledge the depths were broken up, and clouds drop down the dew” (Proverbs 3:19-20).

When people say they don’t have the imagination for being creative, I wonder if that is the best word. Here it says that God used wisdom in creation. Wisdom makes me think that whatever God makes, it is not only beautiful but functional. Like a good writer, He wastes no words. Every part has a purpose in the grand scheme of what He has created.

We might not see it. I’ve looked at the color in a flower blossom and thought that God didn’t have to make it colored; everything could be grey. Yet He created insects, each with an attraction to different colors so each flower could be pollinated by its own species. Do we need sunsets, or cascading waterfalls? Science says so. Even the smallest animals, birds, insects, and microorganisms have their place in the world.

God is imaginative, but if wisdom is the foundation of creation for Him, surely a great deal of the art I create should be given more thought. It isn’t just that a quilt should be warm and comfortable on a bed to be useful, but wisdom also considers the design and the harmony of its structure. It should lift creativity above mere self-expression, give it deeper and more lasting meaning to both me and anyone who sees or uses what I create. Creativity at its purest should reflect the pattern and purposes of the Creator as He spoke the universe into existence.

Another lofty thought is that by wisdom God created me in His image. That suggests that I also have a purpose in His grand plan and a place in the world. These are challenging ideas. I certainly need to ask God for more wisdom (not more imagination) so my creative efforts best represent the His nature, wisdom, and glory. I also need His grace and power to live obediently and with wise understanding so that my life fulfills the purpose for which I was created.