Bella's guest post

Written by Bella

I love to draw. It is really fun to do and learn. Drawing is a tool. It tells stories, illustrates stories, teaches you, or it can be used for fun.  God has given us creative talents that we should use to honor and praise Him. We can see an example of this in Exodus 35:35:

35: Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.

This ‘Tool’, can be used to honor God, but sadly, a lot of people use drawing for the wrong reasons. You could draw a picture of how great God is, or you could be drawing witches and demons. Isaiah 44:13-20 describes men using their creative talents to build false idols:

13: The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.

14: He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it.

15: Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it.

16: Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, "Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!"

17: And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god!"

18: They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.

19: No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, "Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?"

20: He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?

This is a good example. A tree is not bad itself. We build houses with it. We use it to make a fire. We (sometimes because we have ovens) bake and cook with it. But this man used it in a bad way by worshiping it. He used a good substance and used for something bad. It is the same thing with drawing. Drawing is an amazing tool! It can be used in good ways, but people use it the wrong way. So next time when you draw, use it in a way that would honor God. “But I don’t know how to tell if what I am drawing is good”, you might be saying. Read this verse and apply it to your picture. If your picture passes the tests, great! Philippians 4:8 says:

8: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.