I was reading the Amazon reviews for James Franco's book of short stories, Palo Alto. There were basically two customer opinions repeated over and over again-
- This book is wonderful. And I'm not saying that because of the author; it would stand alone as great literature without James Franco's name on the cover.
or
- This book is horrible. The only reason people like it is because James Franco wrote it.
This made me realize that it is impossible to separate art from the artist. Whether they admit or not - and regardless of the quality of the book - people will always know they're reading James Franco when they read Palo Alto. For better or worse, this affects all aspects of art: There are probably great Ke$ha songs that I'll never hear cause I'm not buying a dang Ke$ha CD. There are people who act like Carrie is great literature just because Stephen King wrote it.
I applied this to a greater picture. People call things like the sunsets and wilderness God's "artwork" all the time. And they're right. If you believe that He is the Creator of all, you have to believe that what surrounds you is His Creation.
Here's the tricky part, though. Do you believe God is perfect? That He is flawless? Then his artwork must be, too, right? We can't take what we know about the character of God and separate it from the things we see.
Let me give an example: Say I wrote a story about drug use and prostitution. If you know me very well, you know that I'm probably not glorifying those situations. You would assume the message I'm trying to convey is not one that supports things like drug use and prostitution. Cue your high school literature analysis skills and figure out what the author is trying to convey.
When we look around and see the impoverished, the thirsty, the naked, the sickly, and the imprisoned, we have two options: 1) We can assume that what we see is beautiful and His ways are greater than our understanding, or 2) We can assume that His artwork isn't yet complete.
While I certainly believe His ways are greater than our understanding, I can't accept that impoverished kids in the India's slums or child prostitution in Oregon is supposed to be beautiful. I have to think - for my own sanity, if nothing else - that the masterpiece He's creating isn't complete.
It's missing something.
I believe it's missing us.
There is unquestionable beauty in seeing someone work for the benefit of mankind. When pictures of starving African children become cliche, we can still find hope when the pictures includes a missionary meeting their medicinal needs.
It doesn't have to be something extreme or beautiful in your typical sense. It can be giving a homeless guy all your spare change even though he reeks of alcohol and you don't know how he'll spend it.
Not being a part of God's artwork is ignoring His purpose for your life. You are leaving His work incomplete. More importantly, it's a privilege that God wants to do a portrait (a story, a song) about you, and you're not even going to show up? Don't miss this opportunity.
James Franco's book, no matter how powerful it is, doesn't do anyone any good unless people read it. It must affect them. Don't be scared to be affected by what surrounds you, good or bad. Don't get all gushy over a lovely sunset and then be paralyzed by the dire state of so many people.
As I try to make this my prayer for myself, I will pray it for you too:
God, You are perfect, and so I love everything You've created. I will pray for the pimps in prostitution rings and feed the "bums" in downtown Wilmington, for they are your creation. And when I see something beautiful to restore my faith in humanity amidst all this chaos, I will not take it for granted. I will place emphasis on gratitude by praying for the less fortunate. In the mean time, help me to be that something beautiful. Help me to restore the faith of others. Whenever I do something for the least of these, remind me that I'm doing it for You. Amen.
