Here is Part 2 of "The Heart of The Artist" based on Chapter 4
*Be Kind To the Artist in You:
(Ephesians 4:32) tells us to "be kind and compassionate
to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ
forgave you." (Apply this to yourself)
The Perfectionist is not kind to the artist inside.
As we've seen, the perfectionist constantly criticizes
the artist inside, sets unrealistic high expectations,
and sees only the negative. But God made us to be
artists. When we mistreat the artist in us, we
diminish someone God made and loves.
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*Does God Really Like Me:
If you base your self-esteem on what you do instead of
who you are, your self-image will go up and down
depending on your latest reviews. Building your
self-concept solely on your gifts and talents is like
building a house on shifting sand.
Instead, build your self-esteem on who you are as a
child of God.
The Key to a healthy self-image is not about doing.
It's about being a beloved child of God.
Put Yourself in touch with God's love:
(Romans 8:38-39)
"I am convinced that neither death
nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the
present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height
nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be
able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord."
The only hope non-Christians have for a healthy
self-image lies in their ability to think positively
and to focus only on positive feelings about
themselves.
The only hope believers have for a healthy self-image
lies in our concept of God. That's the key. Our
God-concept is more important than our self-concept.
It's a paradox. You find your life by losing it.
Matthew 10:39
39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life
for my sake will find it.
*You find your worth and your value by losing yourself to God.
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*Don't Make Self-esteem Your God:
We are to love God above all things and all people,
even above ourselves.
Jesus said that we are to love the Lord with all our
heart, with all our soul,and with all our mind. This
is the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:27-38).
Loving others (Love your neighbor as yourself)
is the second greatest commandment (Matthew 22:39).
In Fact, when we love God first, we can truly love
others and ourselves.
Be careful not to make self-esteem your God.
Seek first God's kingdom, and things like having a
healthy self-image will be granted to you.
Matthew 6:33 New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
will be given to you as well.
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*Set realistic expectations (With God's help):
While we might be expecting artistic perfection, that
might be the furthest thing from God's mind.
Try to keep the big picture in mind.
God cares about all the details of our artistic
endeavors, but He's also in the business of saving
souls. What's more important?
We can't control how well we perform or how people are
going to respond. But we can control our motives
and how prepared we are to minister with our talents.
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*Pursuing Excellence:
The Best Artists pursue excellence, not perfection.
While perfectionism is destructive and man-centered,
pursuing excellence is constructive and God-honoring.
Pursuing excellence means we do our best with what we
have, to the glory of God.
God didn't just throw things together when he created
the universe. He modeled creative excellence for us.
It's obvious that we serve a God who delights in
creativity and values doing things with excellence.
Excellence is also a powerful witness for Christ.
When we do things with excellence, the world will sit
up and take notice, and we can point them to a God who
created us, gifted us, and loves us.
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Just Sayin.............Dave
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