In His Image and in His Likeness

Conventional knowledge says humans are categorized into two; male and female. I, however, place humans in three categories; the creators, the curators, and the consumers. Although these are not absolutes because it’s impossible to function as only one, it does define how humans think, act, and live.

The Creators

To create means to make or cause to be or to become. To create is to bring into existence. Creators exude, they do and make happen. They instigate change and direct courses, they innovate and disrupt known ideologies. They give birth, and finally, they are the true image of God, the creator!

In the Holy Book, when God would introduce himself to humanity, the first sentence summed it all up. He introduced Himself as a creator, “In the beginning, God ‘created’ the heavens and the earth,” this He did with the creative power of thoughts and words. He spoke things into existence, and that is what He called us to do when he said we should “…multiply and replenish the earth”. His first assignment to man was to create names for the things He had created. There’s a good reason why he didn’t create chairs, ovens, photocopiers, cars, papers, bread, or even juice. He left us to continue with the work of creating, to continue in his place.

The Curators

Curators gather, they compile creations. They do not create but they gather, arrange, and feed consumers with works of Creators in return for publicity, recognition, and acceptance. Curators sometimes serve as middlemen between creators and consumers, linking them with information not easily accessible to them. Sadly, they can take the form of a dumpsite because they have and confuse with so much different information and if care is not taken, they’ll stink from overload. They follow trends created by the creators. Most Instagram bloggers are like that, Tunde Ednut and Instablog9ja are good examples.

The Consumers

Consumers do nothing more than consume. They’re always obese with information with no tangible outlet to exercise expertise. They eventually contract the know-it-all virus and are prone to argue and judge the creators. They’re good, intelligent, hardworking, creative, and everything else you can think of, albeit, it’s only on their lips. Their vocabulary is filled with will, should, could, would, later, tomorrow, difficult, hard, stressful, fun, and entertainment. They romance procrastination and their activity reeks with active usage of products created by the creators and sometimes information gathered by the curator. They are rumour mongers and human worshippers, one thing they miss is that the so-called celebrities are celebrated because of the works they’ve done and the things they’ve created, so, if they focus on their own work too, they’ll soon be celebrated.

Consumers are always spending hence they’re broke and limited. Creators earn. Both tangible and intangible resources. I’ll advise that you create more than you consume! Take a cue from the ultimate creator, God, He created everything but doesn’t consume anything. He said, “…the goats on the mountain and the birds of the air are mine…” He created fruit-producing trees but doesn’t eat off them. To the eater, He gives bread and to the sower, He gives seed.

All that said, you don’t need to be an artist, writer, musician, or poet to create. There are tangible creations and intangible creations. An artist can create a physical painting from his imagination, a comedian can create smiles and happiness through his jokes, and a carpenter can create furniture with wood. You share the nature of our Father, the ultimate creator, and His residue remains in you. You can create too, notwithstanding your passion or proclivities.

“No matter what our particular job, especially in our world today, we all are called to be ‘tikkun olam’ — repairers of creation.” - Fred Rogers

This year, look away from the media chaos and public opinions, then find time to create original content continuously. Be a trendsetter, choose to create more than you consume — Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t spend time surfing Instagram as you do yet he makes his money from your usage. No one will and can create as you would, that’s why you’re unique, so, shun that overly critical inner voice that tells you that you can’t. You can! You can write that book, you can record that song, you can write that code, you can start that business, you can manufacture that product.

The world needs a taste of your awesomeness, start creating and share the fruits of your imagination!