Why Wasn't Jesus An Artist?

Many a times, often confused about my own professional choices, I have thought to myself, why did Jesus not get into art, music, or adventurous chivalry? One may conveniently and religiously argue saying it is because they are ‘bad’ in the sight of God. Absolutely no. He limited his options and goals. Jesus did not get trapped into endless indulgences. Perhaps, in the language of the season of Lent, a spiritual way to say it is, Jesus fasted, he made abstinence.

One of the biggest trap of our time is constant indulgence, says, Gayathri Arvind, founder of Abhasa mental wellness centre. Wherever you turn there is an opportunity to let yourself be consumed by endless options, like, endless movies, web series, etc. Even food is available anytime anywhere with just at a click. They may be useful, entertaining, and satisfying; it gives you an instant dopamine hit. The more you consume the more you trap yourself into long-term trouble, and one day you are left wondering, 'what went wrong?' Constant indulgence is the villain.

The solution is to set boundaries for yourself. Jesus had many prospects and opportunities, but he was not an opportunist; and if he had to be one, he would have really become the king of the Jews. For Jesus opportunity is a fundamental chance or occasion to be kind, fix a wrongdoing, or cure a malady. One may have an easy opportunity to make a huge profit, or swindle a lot of money, or get into big positions, given on a platter. Scriptures talk about Herodias stealing an opportunity and gets John the Baptist killed, and given to her on a platter (Mark 6: 14-29). In contrast, scriptures also talk about Solomon having an opportunity to ask for anything, and he asked for wisdom (1 Kings 3 :4-13).

We often hear people saying about Jesus, borrowing a phrase from I Corinthians 9:22, that ‘He became all things to all people’. ‘All things’ that ‘all people’ fundamentally need are love, dignity, acceptance, kindness, compassion, inclusivity, access to truth, and the like; and Jesus did become all things to all people. We must remember that many more people had come to Jesus asking for things and returned back empty handed. A man came to follow Jesus but went away in sorrow because he had great wealth which he was not ready to detach from (Matthew 19: 22-23).

For Jesus, happiness is not the result of having more. ‘Have an enduring way of wanting less is the key’, says, Arthur C Brooks. All happy people realise this in the second half of their life. We often think that satisfaction comes from having more. But the disaster is that one can never keep up with what they want. The real formula for happiness is committing to a way of ‘wanting less’. Have a ‘want management strategy’.

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