I am reading through the book Sex God by Rob Bell. The book explores the connection between God and sexuality, and in one chapter, he deals with the way our thoughts, speech, and actions can hurt those around us. He envisions a school hall setting in which some middle school boys are “rating” the body parts of some of their female co-eds. Then, the line that really hit me…(and I am paraphrasing here)…how you treat God’s creation reveals what you feel about the Creator.
You see, in Genesis 1:27 (NIV), we read that the Creator and His Creation are intentionally similar:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
What does it mean to be created in the image of God? Well, think about something you’ve created in the past. Maybe you’ve painted something, written a poem, or you’ve given a great dramatic or vocal performance. Everything you create has an element of “you” in it. Your creation, whether big or small, reflects who you are.
God created male and female in His own image. We reflect who God is. Now, there’s a scary statement. That means what I say, what I do, how I dress, what I think…etc…it all shows the world who God is. So, when I start objectifying women or looking down my nose at others less well-dressed than me or maybe I gossip behind someone’s back about something they did, I am showing everyone around me that I think very little of God’s creation…and, that I think little of God, for He created everything. I wouldn’t dare say, think, do these things directly towards God, so why would I do them towards what He created.
Artists take their work seriously, and when you say or do something that negatively impacts an artist’s work, you hurt the artist. God is the most creative and majestic artist in the entire universe…who am I to criticize His work?
So, the next time we feel the desire to lust or gossip or be prideful, we need to remember that the most incredible artist the world has ever seen, and will ever see, created the thing we’re being critical of…and…quite frankly, He does not care for our selfish critism.
Praise be to God that He is not as critical of us as we are with His creation!