Genius and Faith

I just finished reading a biography of Ludwig van Beethoven (Beethoven The Man Revealed by John Suchet). Beethoven is a fascinating figure. I’ve tried to play some of his piano music over the years. Some of it is overwhelming and I’m afraid I’ll never get it down. Being able to master things like the third Movement of the Moonlight Sonata or the first movement of the Pathetique Sonata is like an impossible dream for me. It’s like I’m always striving but never arriving–but somehow I profit from the striving.

I knew before I read the biography that Beethoven was a difficult and eccentric figure, as well as brilliant, and I was hoping to find evidence of faith in this life. But there did not seem to be much evidence of that.

Nor did he seem like a lovable eccentric. He would lose his temper and carry grudges. Famously, he carried on a merciless court battle with his widowed sister-in-law over custody of her son, Karl. It seemed that Beethoven was obsessed with making his nephew, as the only male heir in the family, the one to carry on his musical legacy and he didn’t think he could do that unless he had sole custody. To quote Martin Cooper: “The lawsuit over his nephew brought out the worst in Beethoven’s character, and during its course he exhibited self-righteousness, vindictiveness, unscrupulousness, lack of self-control, and a wholesale disregard for any point of view but his own.”

I really wanted to see Beethoven in a better light. Genius often does not translate into goodness, though we wish it did.

God has salted the world with geniuses here and there. Do we wish we were one of them?

Some things to consider…

1. Remarkably talented individuals are sometimes failures in other parts of life.
   We might think that the super-talented are successful in all of life–but they often are not. Many geniuses led difficult, troubled lives. Often they do not manage their lives well–broken marriages, resentful children, financial unwisdom, alcoholism, ruined health…

John Suchet (in the context of Beethoven) says: “Perhaps the most we can say is that the mind of a true genius is found to be wanting in other areas; that the balance between different parts in the brain of a genius is not always as it should be. The genius might be supreme in the area of his genius, but in other areas–which to the non-genius may seem straightforward and obvious–he is left floundering.”

Perhaps not being a genius isn’t so bad after all.

2. Genius is a gift.
   People either have it or they don’t.

This doesn’t mean that us ordinary folks are less than the geniuses. In God’s sight, we are not really ordinary at all. All of us are unique in the way God made us. We are who we are with our own set of strengths and weaknesses. We shouldn’t long to be someone else. We shouldn’t envy those that are ‘great’. The question is not, “Why couldn’t I be as great as so-and-so?” but “How can I be the best me, with the mix of traits God has given me?”

God is not impressed with greatness. He is not impressed with pop stars who fill stadiums, or artists whose paintings sell for millions of dollars. He looks at the heart.

And with this in mind, we are all on the same ground as the ‘great’. We will be judged according to what God has given us. We just have to live with what we’ve got. There is no profit in wanting to be someone else.

3. Good things can come even through those that do not recognize God.
   All good things come from God. James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Great people should give glory to God for their gifts, but sadly that is not always the case.

Since all good comes ultimately from God, we can appreciate the great art, music and literature that comes though those whose spiritual life was lacking.

The danger for gifted or successful people is that they will be blinded to their need for God. The fame and praise they receive might go to their head. They should recognize that God is the one who gave them their talents and genius. Genius, like wealth, can blind people to the fact that they must humble themselves and be saved by grace, through faith, just like everyone else.

Sometimes we find a person who combines supreme talent with a vital Christian faith. I think of Johann Sebastion Bach, the great baroque composer. He was a Lutheran churchman who signed every piece of music he wrote with ‘Soli Deo Gloria’–‘To God alone be glory’. You could hear God’s truth just in his music–it didn’t even need words. Bach combined genius with vigorous Christianity. He showed the right way to do it.