By Sergio Franco
It is so commonly said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. True, but do we believe that when our work is criticized by personal opinion? Staying focused is sometimes the easiest character trait to toss aside. We get discouraged by rejection or disheartened by another man's standards. We give up on all that we have put into our art form and slowly lose the passion and desire to pursue it. So how can we stay focused in this unsatisfying world.
Jesus said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you." (John 15:18). Now that we got that as our platform we understand that rejection and disapproval is inevitable. Our work will always be criticised or compared by this world so we must come to that realisation and learn that as much as our art form can be seen by this world, its purpose is far beyond the natural realm.
A key to staying focused is that we must be prepared to have the faith to believe our work has a plan and purpose, ordained by God, and He will make His way come to pass - even if the world rejects it. Proverbs says that "A man's steps are directed by the LORD" (Proverbs 20:24). We are our Father's children, and if we humble ourselves to His way, we will appear in Glory with Him (Colossians 3:4). That is our greatest goal: to use our art form to bring Him the ultimate glory; our goal is not to be ranked by this world.
Another area that deters us and causes us to lose focus is the basic fact that for most of us we work in the business world. We are just not able to spend our full days on our art forms, and this often causes us to be frustrated and irritated. To make it worse, the better we do at our jobs, the more the companies we work for expect us to spend more time at the office and getting more involved. The key is not to believe that we can please everyone and still do the things that God has placed in our hearts. There is one thing that I see so often and its that people will always bend over backwards to do what their companies say. In many cases, this takes time away from what they really want to do, and they end up taking time away from doing the things for Christ, if not their relationship with Christ. The key is to be open and speak out about your situation - make known to everyone that your art form is important to you. Tell your company that you will give them one hundred percent within the confines of the working hours, and do so, for we are ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). In saying that, also tell them that they must respect the fact that your time is your time. Be strong about that because God has called you and fashioned you to do the things that you long to do. Do not be apologetic about that. For God is first in our lives. Yes, we must work, and I respect that. But when work is over it is over (Matthew 6:32-33).
Finally, the most important thing about staying focused is our walk with Christ. If our intimacy with Christ is lacking, our focus is lacking. We cannot believe that our art form is based on our ability, for if it is so our focus is flawed from the beginning. Rather, our art is based on the Spirit of God (Zechariah 4:6). The more real time we spend with Christ, the more revelation He gives us. The more revelation that He gives, the more authority we have in those areas. The more the authority we have, the more power we begin to walk in. When our art forms are founded in Christ they become fruitful. The more fruitful our art forms become, the more encouraging it becomes to ourselves and others. Keep your eyes on the things that are above (Colossians 3:1-4). Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts) |
