Creative work is hard. It takes effort and stamina to craft something new. In The War of Art and Do the Work, Steven Pressfield exposes resistance as the chief foe of writers. They have to fight their innate tendency to procrastinate, waste time, and criticize themselves. He interprets writing in militaristic terms, and for good reason. Try composing something. It’s a battle!
But resistance doesn’t attack writers only. Any creative person faces opposition. The artist must recognize this or her ideas will remain in her head, unrealized and unfruitful.
Why the resistance? It’s easy to blame externals: distractions, choices, no time or money. Each may contribute to the problem, but the issue goes deeper. It’s an inside job.
Kurt Vonnegut says that “to practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.”
That’s a clue. Art transforms nature–a lump of clay becomes a sculpture; ideas become words, and sounds become melodies. But art also changes us. When we create, we renew ourselves.
And we may not like this. We may not want to confront our fears, our hesitations, our insecurities. So we resist the work. Either we don’t start or we never finish.
And it gets even deeper. Rabindranath Tagore asks, “What is art? It is the response of man’s creative soul to the call of the Real.” To resist art, then, is to starve our souls and deny God’s call. A double calamity!
Reading through Pressfield’s books, it seemed clear to me that the biblical notion of sin provides the best explanation for resistance. Sin captures and corrupts the soul. We don’t function as we should; God’s design has been damaged.
And the effects of sin pervade our whole being.
- “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” – Genesis 6:5
- “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.” – Ecclesiastes 7:20
- “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” – Jeremiah 17:9
- “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” – Galatians 5:17 (ESV)
Not a pretty picture, but one hardly worth denying. There’s too much evidence, both personal and global, to argue otherwise.
It’s not the artistic task that intimidates us so much as our hearts not wanting to grow.
Writing changes our soul; creating transforms us. It forces us to deal with things we’d rather not. That’s why we delay, avoid, and resist.
The same goes with the spiritual life. Do we avoid prayer? We care about issues but we may not want to change. Do we neglect God’s Word? We enjoy learning but the commands of Jesus frighten us. Have we given up serving? Sharing our talents was fun for a while, but then . . .
Dissatisfied? Jeff Goins says, “Tell the voices of opposition to shut up. Refuse to be ruled by fear. And then, get on with what you were born to do.”
But resistance drains our creative energy; where do we get the strength to get back into the game?
Turn things around. Resist resistance. The apostle Peter tells us to “be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (1 Peter 5:8-10).
Become aware of the battle. Don’t brush it off or hide from it. Bring it out into the open. When you do, you’ll recognize that you’re dealing with a larger enemy. He roars, but Jesus rules!
And you’re not alone. Other have faced, are facing, similar struggles. God gives them victory; He’ll bless you, too. The pain’s real, but it won’t endure.
You will.
You’ll grow.
And so will your art.
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