Paint Slinger, Defined

I keep meaning to explain how I came up with the title of my blog: “Paint Slinger.” Danny Kaye, comedian, musician, and entertainer, died in 1987. He once said that “Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint on it you can.”

Isn’t that exactly what we are called to do in life . . . throw all the paint we can?

The Nootka Indians from Vancouver Island, Canada, put it this way: “You, whose day it is, get out your rainbow colors and make it beautiful.”

God has given each of us an abundance of rainbow colors: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These nine gifts actually compose one gift, the fruit of God’s Spirit, according to Galatians 5:22-23. I don’t think God would mind if you if you added a few colors of your own. I suggest forgiveness and spontaneity, for starters.

Pablo Picasso once said that “Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Our task in life, as I see it, is to sling paint – God’s love, joy, peace, etc. - everywhere we go, in hopes that we wash away from our souls and the souls of others "the dust of everyday life." The result will be that we make our world a more beautiful place in which to live. What are we waiting for?