Why Imagination is Worthless

In today’s culture, imagination is celebrated. Children are encouraged to “dream big,” and adults are told to “never lose their childlike wonder.” Creativity, ambition, and innovation are exalted as the highest virtues of humanity.

But the Bible paints a very different picture. Imagination, when disconnected from the truth of God, is a lie. It becomes vanity: a conceited, baseless opinion that ultimately originates in the heart of man, not in the truth of God. Imagination starts when man ceases to glorify God and instead turns inward, exalting his own thoughts above God’s revelation.

“[21] Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. [22] Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, [23] And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.” – Romans 1:21-23 

When mankind refuses to glorify God and be thankful, the inevitable result is idolatry. It leads to us trying to be our own gods (Rom 1:20-32). We conjure up in our imagination a false reality: one where we are in charge and know what’s best. These vain imaginations always lead away from truth and into deception.

The Vanity of Human Imagination

In the Bible, imagination is always correlated with ungodliness and evil:

“[5] And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” – Genesis 6:5

“[20] …for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth…” – Genesis 8:21

“[3] For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: [4] (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) [5] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” – 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 

The imagination of fallen man always attempts to replace God’s revealed truth with his own inventions, exalting self over the Creator. What began as unthankfulness turns into darkness, and man’s heart, deceitful above all things, fills that void with idols (Jer 17:9).

This is why imagination, apart from the knowledge of God, is worthless. It cannot produce truth, only counterfeits. It cannot lead to life, only deception.  

The Modern Idolatry of Imagination

Humanity’s idolatry today is not so different from the past. The world still worships itself: man, pleasure, and creation rather than the Creator (Rom 1:25). The forms of worship may look more modern, but the heart behind them is the same as it’s always been (Ecc 1:9).

Our culture’s entertainment, music, and philosophies are saturated with vain imagination. Take for example John Lennon’s song “Imagine.” It calls for peace through the rejection of heaven, hell, and faith. It’s a delusion wrapped in a melody, making it sweeter to swallow the disastrous lie that will land you in hell.

Or consider media companies that preach self-fulfillment, self-actualization, inner divinity, and consequence-free living that always leads to a happy ending. Take for example, Disney’s movie “Soul” from 2020. In this movie, various souls find meaning in their passion, are pre-incarnate before birth in the “great before”, and experience “the great beyond” after death. No heaven or hell, no faith or rejection of the gospel of Christ. This type of imaginative storytelling captures the minds of millions of children across the world and parents inadvertently implant a false reality into the minds of impressionable children and themselves. Such imagination replaces truth with fantasy, and in doing so, conditions children and adults alike to live as if God doesn’t exist.

In an imaginary world with romanticized expectations and few consequences, who needs Jesus Christ? Mickey Mouse seems like more fun!

Imagination divorced from truth leads to spiritual blindness. It glorifies man’s mind instead of God’s Word. And when people live in the fantasies of their own making, they stop seeking the God who made them. The vain imaginations we subjugate ourselves to and develop through worldly music, entertainment, and pleasure-seeking will always leave us empty-handed and wanting more. Sin never satisfies and without God, mankind produces vanity, ignorance, and evil works (Eph 4:17-19, Jas 1:14-15).

“Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” – Rom 1:22

The Remedy: Faith and the Knowledge of God

What is the remedy for our default vanity and sinful condition? Faith in Christ and a clear understanding of God’s Grace. While vanity is a lack of substance, faith, on the contrary, has a substance:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11:1

Faith is built on the solid foundation of God’s revealed truth, not the empty speculations of man. Faith believes what God has said about sin, salvation, and the Savior, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day to save us by His grace (Rom 3:21-26; 1Co 15:1-4).

Grace kills the old man and renews the mind. It frees us from the lies of imagination and brings us into the reality of God’s truth (Rom 12:1-2). Through faith in the Scripture, our thoughts are brought “into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2Co 10:5).

We must cast down our imaginations, not nurture them. We must reject the self-deceiving fantasies of this world and instead walk by faith in what is real: Christ and His Word.

True Creativity within God’s Boundaries

Some might object and say, “But isn’t imagination the source of art, music, and invention?” There is indeed room for creativity, but creativity must be constrained by truth. God Himself is the Creator, and human creativity reflects His image when it glorifies Him. For example, a musician might create a song rooted in the truth of God in order to worship Him (so did David). This is good (Eph 5:19, Col 3:16)!

However, when human creativity becomes unanchored from God’s truth, it devolves into idolatry. Art, music, innovation, and entertainment that promote ungodliness, pride, or falsehood are not creative, they’re corrupt. True, righteous creativity should glorify the Creator, not the creature.

Conclusion

Imagination without God is vanity. It begins with unthankfulness, grows into false worship, and ends in judgment. But faith, rooted in God’s truth, brings light to the darkened heart.

Reject the world’s lies and fantasies. Fill your mind with Scripture. Bring every thought captive to Christ. For in Him, you will find not imagination, but reality: beauty, truth, grace, and eternal life.