Influence Through Creativity & Wisdom

One of the great tools we will need in order to influence and even begin to reshape the world around us is wisdom. The word wisdom, in Scripture, is the application of knowledge, skills, and abilities to solve complex problems in the world and create beauty for the journey. Biblical wisdom is to see life through God’s perspective and then access God’s creative genius to find practical solutions to life’s problems.

Bill Johnson says,

“When unbelievers lead the way in inventions and artistic expression, it is because the church has embraced a false kind of spirituality.”

Wisdom is, therefore, deeply tied to creativity. Listen to Proverbs 8:

• v. 12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.
• v. 14 “I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength.”
• v. 15 “By me [Wisdom] kings reign, and rulers decree what is just;”
• v. 16 by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly.
• v. 18 Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness.
• v. 19 My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.
• v. 20 I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice,
• v. 21 granting an inheritance to those who love me and filling their treasuries.“
• v. 22 “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. 23Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,
• v.27 When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep. 28when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 29 when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command,
• v. 30 Then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, 31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

When the Lord gave Moses the command for the Wilderness Tabernacle, He then said, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.” Exodus 31:2-5. God anointed a man with wisdom for the purpose of creativity and craftsmanship to produce something for the glory of God and the usefulness of the people.

We must begin to look at the world with a heart of compassion in order to access God’s realms of wisdom and creativity to reshape and influence the world around us. There are thousands of stories illustrating this throughout Scripture and history, but it seems that the church has relinquished its ability to dream and to unlock it’s thinking to access His wisdom and creativity both to solve problems and create useful and beautiful things. What would happen if His kingdom people would begin to enter boardrooms saying, “I believe I have the answer we’ve been looking for and then begin to speak from revelation into the situation?” What would happen if, in the arena of art and entertainment, we began to say, “Look at this that I have created, this that I am dreaming?” What would happen in the areas of business and industry if the people of God began to pioneer all sorts of new ideas and witty inventions?