Episode Details

Great stories should lead us to wonder, and lately, stories that don’t aren’t doing well at the box office. Meanwhile, writers and actors for these stories have gone on strike because they object to streaming services and AI that might cheat them out of their livelihoods. Scripture warns against employers oppressing hired employees, whether it’s a business or vocational ministry. How do Christian fans honor the value of stories and show our appreciation for the creators who work hard to reflect God’s image and create them?

Concession stand

• Here’s another rare Stephen solo show! It builds off our last episode 171.
• For those feeling burdened by work, this topic may bring bad feelings.
• (During a stressful season, Stephen once had those just watching an anime!)
• When we talk about “work,” you might think of that gross office or task.
• If necessary, substitute with a better word—the work you like best of all.
• Honestly, outlining this show was more work than usual, but worth it!
• Also, we don’t sort between “creatives” and “regular folks” on this show.
• Our goal is to encourage every Christian who’s also called to creativity.
• As singer/songwriter Andrew Peterson likes to observe, we’re all creative:

I don’t like calling anyone “a creative”—but yes, I believe everyone is creative. It makes a difference, since that language implies there’s a special class of person who’s somehow more creative than everyone else. That’s just not true. Mathematicians are profoundly creative, as are architects and pastors and homemakers. It’s just not helpful to draw that line. Yes, there are artists, but as my friend Jonathan Rogers says, the arts only make up one slice of the pie of human creativity—and not the most important slice, either.

—”Andrew Peterson on Why Artists Aren’t Better Than Everyone Else,” The Gospel Coalition, Oct. 23, 2019

1. God made us to work and receive honor for it.

• Genesis 1:27–28 gives the Cultural Mandate, emphasizing God’s call to work.
• This includes agriculture, science, forming families, and culture-making.
• Faithful Christians can’t affirm any of these without affirming them all.
• Therefore we can respect all people, yet uniquely respect families.
• And we can also especially affirm people who make stories and songs.
• This is no “we’re awesome” humanism; it’s about reflecting God’s glory.
• Before we speak of sin, all work would be joyful, even fun for us to do.
• We’d have had no corruptions of the task or failure to honor creativity.

2. Sin ruins work with idolatry, laziness, exploitation.

• Do recall your Sunday school: Satan tempts Eve with distorted work.
• The devil literally corrupted humans’ original calling: to do (agri)culture.
• He found the one limit God had given, and urged people to violate it.
• As a result God imposed a penalty, specifically versus their creative work.
• That’s why He cursed childbirth and agriculture with pain (Gen. 3:16–19).
• Along with mortality, we are frustrated whenever we try to create things.
• It’s still human beings’ fault. We tried to idolize a good gift of God.
• That leads to other corruptions of creative acts, like laziness or overwork.
• We also see problems with exploitation, “big guys” over “little guys.”
• But really, everyone distorts work. We see this in the current strikes.
• Yes, writers and actors may do bad work, or