What a goal!
Different roles and positions are involved in the sport commonly known as football, which some call “soccer” (I’m praying for you). The game is about attack and defence. The defence is to stop goals from being conceded. That requires discipline, organisation, focus, understanding and an alert team approach. There’s a lot to be admired about an excellent defensive set-up.
The aim of the game, however, is not about preventing goals from being conceded. It is about scoring goals. There are a variety of ways that this can happen, including the use of set-pieces like goal-kicks, free-kicks, throw-ins, corners and penalties. They result in goals, and that’s perfectly fine. Yet there are the goals that are delivered in what is known as “open play”, which is where the set pieces don’t play a part. This kind of goal usually requires skills, flair, personality and, most importantly of all, creativity.
Creativity in football turns what can be boring events into captivating moments. Creativity opens the game to what makes things exciting and entertaining and why fans pay hundreds and thousands to follow their team. Creativity in the pass or the shot, the dribble that draws attention, or the run that diverts attention enables a teammate to have their opportunity. Creativity gets fans standing on their feet in applause for the beauty people look for in the beautiful game.
Creativity is not something limited to football. I am convinced that creativity enables us to see what God had in mind when He made man in His image. Creation can’t appreciate what was created, but those made in His image have that capacity. We get to look at what is created and respond with due admiration. Not only can we respond in that manner, but we have ways to express ourselves. We don’t create as God created in the beginning, for sure, but we do create. That capacity to create is something worth celebrating when done in a manner that reflects how the Creator did what He did. That is to say, creativity in football is to score goals, so creativity in the rest of life is executed best when it achieves goals.
For example, I love the sort of creativity that makes things happen. You could rightly turn around and suggest that everything makes something happen. You’d be spot on with that. So, to go further, I’m talking about the kind of creativity that sparks the action that blesses. I am very keen to celebrate those who are great at hospitality. Excellent hospitality is creativity in action – the way the room is arranged, the welcome the individual gives, the snacks presented – all of that is creativity. Brilliant creativity and all to spark the action that blesses – we are blessed to receive the hospitality, which raises our sense of being. There are elements of that creativity that are at work with paintings, sculptures, musical pieces, poems, speeches, podcasts, videos, phone calls, and so much more. If you notice, we can all be a part of the process of the kind of creativity that sparks the action that blesses us. It blesses us, and we are inspired to bless others.
The thing about this, you see, is that these tend to bring out the best in others. These actions, interactions, and contributions to life stimulate the positive change that helps us recognise how we are created to do what’s right in God’s sight and bring about His beauty and wonder in the world. Creativity is seen with the passing or movement that sets up the goal, so creativity expressed in wider life is set up to enable us to achieve the greater goals of loving God and loving others. It does not have to be spectacular at all – and the simplicity of some expressions of creativity reinforces that point and helps us understand how we can all be a part of that process.
There’s a lot about life at the moment that is about distraction. It promotes escapism rather than equipping to produce the goods in everyday life. We don’t have to live under narratives that suggest that life is worthless and that all we can ever live for are the leisure activities that take our minds off real life. We can understand a greater narrative that informs us that we were created by God, who placed us in His creation, which was good. It was designed to be good when viewed from His eyes, and it’s destined to be good again as we put our trust and confidence in this good God. If we exercise this hope in Him, we can be caught up in celebrating creativity and promoting that creativity in everyday life. That’s something to look forward to.
What a goal!
For His Name's Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
