The Simple Truth: SDG 

(I’ve started doing an online video devotional on YouTube called The Simple Truth. I wrote this piece for it, the most I worked on the video, the more I thought the content would perfectly fit this column, so here is an edited version of the text.)

SDG

I’ve recently started to sign my work by adding SDG to my name, and a friend asked me why I do that. The truth is, it gets to the soul of being an artist, or at least it does for me. I’d like to explain why.

The Subjectivity of Art

Have you ever been to an art museum? If you have you’ve no doubt seen work you could not replicate in a thousand lifetimes. You’ve also probably seen work that made you think, “What on earth is that doing here?” I get it. Art is subjective. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. And I can relate, there is some work I love and others I could do without. I even feel that way about my own work, but I want you to remember something, dear reader. Both the work you love and the work you, well… don’t—all of it is hanging in the same museum. Did you ever wonder how it all got there?

Am I Right?

My conclusion, and I think I am right, is this: The artist made his work as he saw fit, and when he finished it, he hung it on the wall and owned it. He signed his name to it and stood by it, and some people, not all people, just some people, looked at it and loved it. That’s part of the secret to being an artist. You make what you feel led to make, knowing it won’t please everyone, but some people will love it. The people who love what you do are your audience and they are your tribe. If enough people love what you do, you just might end up in a museum some day. 

My Work

The nice thing about being an artist in the 21st century is you don’t have to be picked. You can create a piece and share it with the world by the end of the day. That’s what I do. This stuff that I post, the songs, the writings, the art, the presentations, all of it, are the works I feel led to create, I make my work and am put it out there for the world to see. I know it won’t reach, I have no illusions that everyone, will live it or like it or even tolerate it, but my prayer is that it will be used to reach and touch and bless someone, even if it just speaks to one heart, that will be enough. Part of it, though, is I need to sign it, and claim it as my work. 

My Faith, My Pride, My Art, His Glory

As a person of faith, a Christian, this presents a dilemma. I believe my inspiration comes at least in part from God. And the only reason I say “in part,” is because I am aware that there is a real possibility, that I could get into my own head, and create something that is too much about me. All I really want to do with my work is serve and bless people and glorify God, while being painfully aware that sometimes I will miss the mark. 

Whose Idea Is It?

But there’s something else. Most of my work is derived to some degree from God’s Word. And while I want to claim the work that I do, I also acknowledge that the idea and the ability to carry it out come from God, and I don’t want to take glory that doesn’t belong to me. 

I’ll Be Bach!

Johann Sebastian Bach showed me the answer. No, I am not channeling him, nor am I in any way comparing anything I have ever made to the genius that Bach was, but I do like how he signed his work. He used to sign his work with three letters, SDG. They are first letters of the Latin phrase, Soli Deo Gloria, which means “To God Alone Be the Glory.” At the end of the day, that’s what I want my work to do. I want my work to point to the One who gave me my gifts and give Him glory. I want to say it’s not about me, or about my work. It’s about Jesus. When you look at my work, my prayer is that the things I make and the things I do, not to mention the way I live, draws you closer to Him.

How about you?

Whatever Gifts

One of the verses that has informed my ministry since the very beginning, is 1 Peter 4:10 which says, “Each one should use whatever gifts he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” Basically what that means is we need to use whatever gifts God has given us, for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good. If we will do that, we just might point others to Jesus and become instruments of His grace to the world around us. 

Who Do You Work For?

Colossians 3:23-24 reminds us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” We need to offer our gifts to the Lord, by using them to serve and bless the world around us, to the glory of God. Soli Deo Gloria, To God Alone Be the Glory, or more simply, SDG!

and that is…

The Simple Truth.