Imagine that you're a parent, and your teenage son or daughter comes to you in order to discuss his or her future career plans. How would you feel if your child told you that he or she planned to become a doctor, a banker or a lawyer? Ecstatic? Maybe not, but at the very least, you would probably feel a sense of gratitude that your child had chosen a nice, sensible profession which was likely to reap big financial rewards, once your child's substantial school loans were all paid off.

     Now imagine that same child coming to you and telling you that he or she wants to be a professional musician, painter, poet, writer or actor. Hmmm. That's another thing altogether, isn't it!

     Sure, you've read about people in all of those professions (with the possible exception of poetry) who have made it big. Some exceptionally fortunate artists have even made absurd amounts of money.

     But you're smart. You're realistic. You know that for every success story in the world of the arts, there are many other true stories about artistic people who have struggled for many years just to pay the rent, even in cases where they were willing and able to take jobs which weren't related to the arts in order to survive.

     Ironically, your child might never have developed a passion for the arts in the first place if it had not been for your influence. After all, it was you who paid for the piano lessons and urged your child to persevere when he or she felt like giving up. It was you who paid a tidy sum for art materials and acting lessons and whatever else you felt was needed in order to insure that the neighbors didn't see you as stingy and uncultured.

     But let's face it. It never occurred to you that your child's involvement with the arts would ever become such a passion that your child would want to pursue a career in the arts. You would have been happy if your child had just dabbled in the arts enough to win a couple of awards in high school and college.

     You would never admit to any bias against the arts. The arts are all about culture. It's important for middle class and upper class people to have culture.

     It's just that artists themselves --- well, they're really quite a strange group of people, aren't they? Bohemians, some would call them. Always in pursuit of their "muse" or whatever they call it. You've heard about more than a few artists who lived tragic lives. That isn't the kind of life you'd envisioned for you precious little one when you first saw those cute, fat cheeks and those sweet eyes looking back at you lovingly from one of the many identical cradles in the hospital maternity ward.

     Consequently, you may be secretly aghast when your child tells you that he or she loves a particular branch of the arts so much that he or she plans to do that thing for the rest of his or her life.

     You might be a little bit more understanding if you really appreciated how important the arts can become to some people. There is something indescribably special about the feeling one gets when one creates a really good piece of art, music, drama or literature. As cliched as it might sound, it's like being alive for the first time.

     For the Christian artist, that can be particularly true. To create a work of art is to partake, in some small and limited way, in the act of God's creation of the universe. Even though one knows that one's own creativity pales in comparison with God's, there is still something inherently spiritual about the arts.

     But your concern is not difficult to understand, dear parent. A life in the arts can indeed be perilous, particularly in terms of financial stability.

     It's not for nothing that the term "starving artist" came into being. In fact, that term has become so well known that many in our culture now believe that anyone who chooses to pursue a career in the arts ought to be willing to accept the idea that living in perpetual or frequent poverty is just part of the package.

     Our attitudes about the arts sometimes reek of unconscious condescension. Musicians, for example, do not work their musical instruments. It's said that they "play" their instruments. Never mind that it may have taken hundreds or even thousands of hours of intense practice in order for them to get to the point that they can perform with such expertise. In the eyes of many, they're still just "playing" around.

     And why should people feel obligated to pay people to play and have fun? It's easy to justify depriving artistically creative people of proper remuneration, if one doesn't really appreciate what such people do, and if one views their contributions as trivial and expendable.

     Strictly speaking, it is true that the arts have little or no utilitarian value. Making music does not cause the crops to grow. A poem never protected a person against the cold of winter. A story never cured a physical disease.

     Yet, it is noteworthy that even the poorest of cultures have always had artistic expressions in many different forms. Some art forms (such as the blues) are even associated specifically with poverty and want. Why is that? Would you not think that people who felt that their very survival was threatened would conclude that the arts were a luxury they could easily do without?

     No, the arts don't have much utilitarian value in terms of being strictly necessary for physical survival. They just give us a reason to want to survive in the first place! The arts give definition and meaning to our lives. The arts are what separate human beings from lesser animals which, like dull-witted cows, are content to stand and stare into space each and every day, with one day being pretty much the same as every other day, from the time when they are born to the time when they die.

     The arts are intrinsically social in nature. When one has created a really beautiful painting or written a really beautiful poem or recorded a really beautiful song, one does not want to keep it to one's self. The arts are ultimately all about communication and community. What could be more Christian than that?

     Look around you and try to imagine a day without the arts. From the moment when you get out of bed to the time when you return to that bed in the evening, your life is often influenced by the artistic creations of others. Maybe not every second of every day, but often enough to be able to state with confidence that your world would be considerably more impoverished without the influence of the arts.

     The world of unbelievers may have an excuse for its indifference to the value of the arts and the needs of artists. After all, such people are generally blind to a good many things, not the least of which is the fact that God's hand can be seen in every aspect of creation.

     Christians, however, have no such excuse. We of all people should appreciate the arts. We of all people should nurture, support and help those who struggle regularly in order to infuse their own works of art with a touch of the divine.

     Artistically talented people may be a "breed apart" in some respects, but they also share a good many traits with the rest of humanity. If they did not, their work would be of very limited usefulness.

     Like all other human beings, artists need to eat on a fairly regular basis. Like all other human beings, artists need real homes in which to lay their heads at night. Like all other human beings, artists need medical and dental care. All of those things cost money.

     It is all very well and good to say that you appreciate artists and their work, but what are you personally doing to demonstrate that appreciation in ways which make a real difference? Are you merely a consumer of the arts, or are you a true patron of the arts?

     I began this article with a fictitious scenario based on the premise that all of my readers were parents, or on the premise that even those were not parents could imagine what it might be like to be parents. I think that is a particularly appropriate thing to imagine. The kind of world our children will grow up in will be significantly influenced by the extent to which the Church nurtures and supports artistically talented Christians who are able and willing to exert a positive moral influence in our nation's cultural life.

     Here at ArtisticChristians.com, I'm committed to the goal of ending Starving Artists' Syndrome insofar as it pertains to artistically talented people who are members of the Body of Christ. Admittedly, my commitment to that goal is motivated in part by my own need for help. But it goes beyond that. I know that I am not the only artistically talented Christian who has ever struggled financially. Consequently, I hope to develop this site into a resource which will help numerous people like myself.

     There are so many things I would like to accomplish between now and the time when the Lord takes me home, but I am just one man, and I cannot accomplish those things without your help and support.

     Please pray that God will show you how you can help me to make a major difference in the lives of numerous artistically talented Christians in the United States and elsewhere.

     Any financial contribution, particularly at this critical juncture, will be greatly appreciated. It should go without saying that your prayers will be greatly appreciated as well.

     A SPECIAL NOTE: If you are an artistically talented Christian, and if you are fortunate enough to have achieved a significant amount of success in your chosen field, I would particularly urge you to demonstrate solidarity with artists less fortunate than yourself by helping to support this ministry in practical ways.

To send financial help which will enable me to develop this web site into a resource for all who seek to serve God with their artistic talents, please mail a check or money order to: