We Build

Create, create, create.

Build, build, build.

Those were my repeated thoughts as I stood in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City this week and observed our oldest son, Jude, browse the galleries. Jude and I were in the city for two days to celebrate his 16th birthday, and he came prepared with an impressive list of sites to see. Some were the typical tourist destinations—Statue of Liberty, 9/11 Memorial, Empire State Building, Central Park, etc.—while others were obscure addresses Jude wanted to see because of their relevance to a Marvel movie (especially the Spider-Man movies).

I have spent a lot of time in New York City, but I had never seen it through these eyes before.

MoMA was one of our last stops, and to be very honest, it would not have made it onto my list of must-see attractions. But Jude absolutely could not wait to see his favorite painting, Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” on display, so we reserved our tickets, waited in line, and he was not disappointed!

I cringe to admit that my first instinct about the experience was very different. While I was certainly intrigued to see works by van Gogh, Picasso, and the like, I was decidedly unimpressed by many of the other works. In a word, my first instinct was to criticize. A time or two, I even thought, “I could do that.” In some cases, it was true—I could have done that! But I did not, and someone else did even in the face of constant criticism like mine.

I was struck by the reality that so many of the artists featured in the older sections of the museum were rejected by their contemporaries. They were destitute while alive and their work was scorned by those around them. Certainly, some of them found acclaim while living, but a huge number of them were not significantly appreciated until they were no longer around to realize it.

There was a common theme, however, among these artists when they were met with rejection and criticism. They created anyway. They persisted. They built. They listened to the unique creativity placed within them, and they continued producing even when the response from those around them discouraged it.

You live in a culture quick to criticize. My reaction inside the MoMA is indicative of it. If you dare to live from the creative capacity endowed to you by your Creator, you are going to come face-to-face with the type of criticism that bubbled up in me, and in that moment, you will have a choice to make: You can yield to the criticism or you can build anyway.

Let’s together be a people relentlessly insistent on building and creating rather than criticizing and destroying. We live in a culture that will not understand, and one that is built around a mindset of criticizing.

Let’s you and I build anyway.

Let’s you and I create anyway.

Let’s you and I use eternal eyes to understand that we are not seeking validation in the here and now. Our mission is an eternal one, and we are to be about the task of building and creating in the vein and character of our Creator.

Criticism will come. Do not join it.

Keep building.

Keep creating.

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Cor. 3:10-15)

The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.