BIBLICAL EXAMPLE— MOSES’ MOTHER Exodus 2:1-10

The Israelites endured great persecution under the Egyptian pharaohs. One particularly ruthless pharaoh commanded that all male Israelite babies be murdered. After Moses was born, his mother hid him for three months. When she could not longer hide him she coated a basket with tar and pitch, put him in it, and set it among the reeds on the bank of the Nile. Then she had his sister hide nearby to see what happened to him.

The story has a happy ending. Pharaoh’s daughter found Moses and Moses’ sister volunteered to find a nurse for the baby—his own mother. So, Moses’ mother raised him as a young child and then he went to live in Pharaoh’s palace. Eventually he played the key role in leading the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery. (Moses: 1520-1400 BC, approx.)

Moses’ mother demonstrated creativity as she solved the problem of saving her son from being murdered. Human instinct would probably lead to hiding the boy (which she did when he was very young) or escaping the country with him. But instead, she thought “outside the box” (as we would say) and allowed him to be put directly into the enemy’s hands.

It is not clear from Scripture that Moses’ mother planned for Pharaoh’s daughter to find Moses, but it is quite possible that she knew that the daughter passed by the Nile at a certain place and put Moses in the water at that location. Regardless of whether she knew of Pharaoh’s daughter’s travel plan or not, she approached solving the problem from a different and fresh perspective and the result was the saving of her son’s life.

CREATIVITY IN OUR LIVES—

Some practical evidences of creativity we can see in our lives today are seen in the following “I will” statements:

I will use my talents for good.
I will see things from more than one perspective.
I will use principles to solve problems.
I will learn all I can.
I will look for new ways to be a person of character.

Divide into pairs and discuss:

• What are some areas of life, besides problem solving, in which we need to demonstrate creativity? (Possible answers: in our communication with others, in our celebration of special events, in our entertainment, in our time spent with God, in our learning, in our hobbies)
• What things hinder people from being creative? (Possible answers: laziness, lack of time to think and plan, disorganization, habits, etc.)

CREATIVITY IN MY LIFE THIS WEEK—

Spend a few minutes in personal reflection:

• Identify an area of your life in which you feel “stuck”, “in a rut” or bored. (Examples: your devotional life, your family activities, your work, communication with your child/spouse, your recreational activities)
• Ask God to give you one creative idea to implement this week that will stimulate you in the area and get you “out of the rut”. If you have difficulty coming up with an idea, ask a friend to help you. Some people are naturally more creative than others.
• Ask a trusted friend to help you implement the creative idea.