CREATIVITY vs. Underachievement
Approaching a need, a task, or an idea from a new perspective.

BIBLICAL EXAMPLE – GOD’S PLAN OF REDEMPTION

God created man, Adam, and had a relationship of trust and respect with him, to the degree that God trusted him with his creation:

“…and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:” (Genesis 1:28)

Through disobedience, man destroyed this relationship and fell from his position of dominion over the earth, giving it to Satan.

In an effort to begin to restore to man the blessings that had been lost by Adam,

God made a covenant with Abraham. It began with a relationship built on faith, trust and obedience:

“Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” (Genesis 18:18)

God’s desire to have a relationship with man continued through Moses and the giving of the law. Because God was of excellent character, it was necessary that man be of excellent character also, and the law spelled out for him how to accomplish this in his life:

“And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.” (Deuteronomy 28:2)

We all know how that turned out: man was constantly doing what he wanted, instead of what was best. This disobedience continued to wreak havoc in men’s lives, as he was incapable of holding up his end of the covenant agreement.

God needed a creative way to end this cycle of broken relationships with man and approached this need from a new perspective. Instead of having a covenant with Himself and man, He would send his son to keep the relationship that man had, for four thousand years, been incapable of keeping. He would make a covenant between himself, God the Father, and Jesus, God the Son:

“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood…”(Romans 3:25)

Jesus has paid the price for us to be back in the relationship with God that Adam had. Jesus, the second Adam, did for us what we could not do for ourselves.

God approached our need from a different perspective through his Son, Christ Jesus, and we will forever be the beneficiaries of this mercy.

CREATIVITY IN OUR LIVES –

How often in our own lives and lives of our families do we become stagnant in our relationships, expecting and hoping things will change, but finding from experience that they rarely do. Perhaps it is time to seek the Lord for a new approach in order to achieve the desired results.

Here are five “I will” principles whose practice will help us incorporate the character quality of creativity into our lives (write these on a poster, board or overhead transparency).

1. I will use my talents for good.
2. I will see things from more than one perspective.
3. I will use principles to solve problems.
4. I will learn all I can.
5. I will look for new ways to be a person of character.

CREATIVITY IN MY LIFE THIS WEEK –

Closing #1: Lets dialog about it with one another.

• • Shift the group in to small discussion groups of 3-4.
  • Encourage groups to list the hindrances in their own lives to practicing creativity in their families and with acquaintances.
  • Ask groups to share their feelings with the whole group.

Closing #2: Let’s close in silent prayer, ask God:

• • To forgive you for things in your life that cause you to focus on yourself instead of the needs that are around you.
  • To show you how to practice creativity in your life.
  • To make you aware of opportunities to grow in this character quality.