Created creative

I read an interesting and sad statistic the other day. "Developmental
psychologists now estimate that 98% of babies are born with creative ability...less
than 5% of us have remained creative by age 18." ('Think Big' by Ben
Carson.)

How can this be when we consider our Creator? Psalm 139:14
tells us that when God created mankind, He made us 'fearfully and wonderfully'.
In simple English this means that we are intricately, finely fashioned and
delicately crafted right from the mother's womb. The book went on to say that
the cause of this tragedy is a society that increasingly is not putting any
effort into learning or reading. Plenty of video and computer games and movies
are being made and viewed but they do not stimulate the incredible brain cells
that God ordained would be the command centre of the body, hence the rapidly
lowering level of creative ability.

In latter years I have become absolutely convinced that those
who seek after God, with their whole hearts and minds, always make some kind of
a difference in the world. It was exciting to have this belief confirmed once
again by the author's story of how God, through the incorporating of His
principles, has taken him from the ghetto to the top of his field as a famous
neurosurgeon.

Ben Carson was raised by an uneducated but God-fearing mother
in the ghetto and when he was failing school by the 5^th grade, she
asked the Lord for His advice and then made some radical changes in her sons'
daily habits. The television went off except for two pre-arranged programmes per
week; no playing was done until schoolwork was completed and she decreed that
they had to read two books per week and write a book report on them. Not only
that, she raised them to understand that they were fearfully and wonderfully
made, that God doesn't make rubbish and that they would find whatever answers
they needed in God's Word.

Mr Carson credits the compulsory reading programme and the
book of Proverbs as having the most life-changing effects on his life and is now
encouraging others to implement these same principles in their lives. He says, "...God
has given to every one of us more than fourteen billion cells and connections in
our brain. Now why would God give us such a complex organ system unless He
expects us to use it?"

It is noticeable in Christian circles that a sort of apathy
can exist amongst pockets of believers, where it is not always considered
necessary to grow mentally or intellectually. Often only spiritual growth is
promoted and I personally feel that this is extremely unbalanced, very unhealthy
and works directly against Paul's injunction in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 -– "And
the God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and
soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ."

Psalm 1:2-3 tells us that those who meditate (or study)
God's Word will be like healthy, fruitful trees and whatever they do will
prosper. This is an extremely important promise from God and is available to
anyone who would like to put the principles into action and let God use them as
He has used Ben Carson. Naturally, this requires work, hard work, but God has
always required action to prove words and His blessing always follows.