Aren’t coloring books fun? Remember the smell of grinding crayons into that thick paper? Did you try to stay inside the lines?
In a 1992 TV ad, a nerdy teacher in Kissinger glasses walks up and down the rows of an elementary classroom saying, “Stay within the lines. The lines are our friends,” but one little girl refuses. Then the scene jumps to the present and she is driving the new Isuzu Rodeo within the lines on the highway—until she veers off, just as the narrator says, “Introducing the world’s first V6 crayon: the Isuzu Rodeo. Built to go way outside the lines.”
I’m all for coloring outside the lines. The more creative a person is, the more desperately he will need to color outside the lines. Whether you are painting, performing music, cooking, or doing anything creative, true artistry sometimes means understanding rules so you can break them to achieve an effect. Feel free to color outside the lines.
But the coloring-book analogy proves false in some contexts. An Isuzu Rodeo will fall apart if you drive it off-road all the time. Worse, ignoring lines while driving can get you killed. Bills must paid. Medicine must be taken. You must sleep every night. There are rules for life—and no matter how creative you are, if you ignore the rules, you will suffer.
“You love righteousness and hate wickedness, therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy above all your companions” Psalm 45:7.
This verse, repeated again in Hebrews 1:9 and applied to Jesus—the MOST creative person who ever lived—explains that God gives joy to people who do what is right. Jesus ALWAYS did what was right, so God gave Him more joy than all His companions. Jesus radiated joy—how else do you explain the way children were drawn to Him? Jesus obeyed God and God gave Him joy.
And if we obey God, if we “love righteousness and hate wickedness,” then we too will be blessed with joy. There is joy inside the lines.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 