I've just re-discovered a little story in the bible, that I believe tells the story of what God's gonna do in the creative arts today on a wide scale.
Exodus 7:10-13:
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
As I read this, I'd been thinking about, and was stirred by something a friend of mine said to me and showed me earlier.
This morning, I was about to jam with my friend who plays the keyboard, and happens to be a bit of a prodigy. Before jamming, he wanted to show me a Youtube clip of his friends, in a band based in Europe, which is where he's from. He told me they're not Christians, and also candidly explained that they do drugs & play music. Personally, I'm always open to hearing, and being inspired by non-Christian musicians... But this straight away got me thinking about a number of implications. Now, in this particular case, they weren't *that* inspiring to me. However, as you are probably aware, it is true that some of the music inspired by the devil's lettuce and other not-so-green substances has made our esteemed list of good old rock'n' roll standards. The devil's a great musician... It's just that the Holy Spirit is better.
It's tempting to be a little bit "overawed" by everyone's music these days, and art in general that's out there. Personally, I feel that every facet of creative outlet/expression has been, and is being done extremely well by "Christians" out there. It's just that it's about to happen in a much greater way. 'Wow... they're a Christian? They're good!' is about to become a common thought in today's industries... which for SOME might just evolve into "They're good! Are they a Christian?"
One thing that's crazy about the above story, is that Pharaoh still hardened his heart after watching what happened. Just watch how certain people will always write-off Christians and what they do, no matter what. In some cases, it'll be best to just ignore them. Get on with what God's doing. In other cases, you'll need to foster relationships with these sorts of people, and respect and love them in spite of their hard-heartedness. The apostle John had a relationship with Caiaphas, someone who was very anti-God, even helping plan Jesus's crucifixion (John 18:14-16).
In spite of what some people of power choose to do..... Look out MTV, look out Hollywood, the kingdom of God is coming. If you're a movie star, pop-star, rapper, sports-star, whoever you are, you'd better get with the program, or your days in the spotlight are numbered. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this. I love you.
"So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs." - Exodus 7:10-12
"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen." -Rom 11:36
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