Free pictures of Jesus.. Free Jesus Wallpaper.. Free Jesus pics downloads. Its all over the internet.. Really??
This issue has gotten out of control and I want to talk about whats REALLY going on. With love & humility, to explain, rebuke & challenge our Christian family on this issue. The websites that offer the free Jesus art.. and the folks who use it. Even though the website may say its ok for non-commercial, if its newer than 1924 its not. So here goes..
As the spiritual war increases, the devil attacks with his best most subtle ploys.. greed and power trips disguised as Christian works. The TRUE motive for “Free Pictures of Jesus” is ALL about traffic. Surprised? Read this entire post before you object. The greed stems from how many folks will click on a website so the “ads” there pay the owner. And the power? who has the most followers! Like any social network, followers help spread your message.. but when you are cheating to get them, what message are you truly sending? And this seemingly small sin is then shared with all those who download the beautiful art because they know it must be copyrighted… and they think about this each time they use the free art.. just small sins.. in sheep’s clothing? humm..
What bothers me is that some of the sites doing this have really great content. Much info, great links and creating deep discussions about Jesus. How very sad.. Lets look at all angles. First of all, it is illegal! Just type in “pictures of Jesus” in your search engine. Notice these sites 1st page- Spirit Lessons, Lost Seed and TurnBackToGod. If you click on these sites, you will see beautiful copyrighted artworks offered as Free Jesus picture downloads and/or Free Jesus wallpaper… but ALSO notice the “ads” on the pages. Do you really think they have permission to offer all these images? or even just to show the images on their site? Noooo.. So why do they? Because its worth the traffic versus the risk that the artists will prosecute.. and they may cover this greed based use with the excuse that the Art is “for God’s people” anyway! Humm.. ok, lets consider that..
There are tons of great legal public domain art they could use, but nooo.. they include newer popular artworks because it draws more visitors & sharing (and ad views) and thats the REAL point here. TRAFFIC.. Show me one site that offers free Jesus art without ads or social sharing! Lets consider the art being God’s and not the artist’s right to control. If we go with that thinking, then everything we create is God’s and should be given away free. Whatever way/talent the Lord gave you to make your living.. whatever product or service you produce should be free, as its all from God’s hands anyway. Its all or nothing folks.. I like the ALL FREE idea but we are not in Heaven yet.. how would you make your living? What did God intend? think on this.
I’ve been a Christian art dealer for over 10 years so I know many artists well. And always drawn to the creative, I also know many musicians, writers and other artistic types. You surely know some too. Have you noticed what most have in common? They are all VERY sensitive.. they feel life & emotions on very deep levels and so are able to touch us with these emotions through their art, words & song! But they pay a price for this great talent from God.. this great sensitivity. Have you noticed it too? They are often withdrawn from main stream society.. too sensitive to deal with daily pressures.. often unsuccessful in “normal” vocations.. and some are long tormented souls. They live to create.
I’m just saying that God gave us all talents to use and weave into the fabric of life… and to support ourselves financially. Most artists I know need their art to support them. How sad it would be if Greg Olsen or Simon Dewey had to work construction and damaged their very gifted hands. What magnificent images we would miss? NO! Their talent & work contribution IS their art.. and they deserve to control it and be paid, just as we do for our work. If you know any artists, you know this is true. Are we not all artists with our talents before God?
So whats the answer? Surely we want to spread the love & message of our Lord, but lets not corrupt it. Again, I feel certain that most folks know they are downloading illegal art and the point is that now they and all whom they share it with are brought into the sin these “Free Jesus Art” sites offer. Because each time they want to ”just” print it for a friend.. or on a flyer for a small event.. or whatever, they hear that small voice that says they could get in trouble.. that its not right.. that they should ask somebody.. and they often call me. Ahh.. sly Satan.
I challenge these “Christian” sites-> If you are truly just offering these images to share Jesus with the world, CONTACT the artists to ASK for permission (I can help).. and then SHOW on your site that you TRULY HAVE permission so folks won’t feel guilty or worry. Also consider removing the “ads” that are paying you from these “Free Pictures of Jesus” pages.. without the ads, the artists may consider your motives more true and agree. Do it right and make the Lord’s message PURE for His sheep that find you. How can you do otherwise?
Last- Warning & Facts- Why aren’t these website owners prosecuted?? Like any court issue, its usually too expensive & time consuming.. BUT to the copyright infringed, TAKE HEART! There is a FREE & EASY fix that few know about. All you must do is “make an effort” to contact the website to ask them to remove your copyrighted material. If they don’t show contact info, or don’t remove the copyrighted art, then you just contact the search engines to have the pages REMOVED! THINK- Being removed from Google searches is a HUGE threat as traffic is the REAL motive!
But what about “Fair use”? In a nutshell, this loophole doesn’t apply when- a) the image is over 50% original b)the use is not intregal to a specific teaching c) and money is being made from its use. Facts are facts and fair is fair. “Fair use” is meant for school teachers, not website power plays run rampant. The mere threat of this fact of infinging pages being easy to remove from search engines should get your copyrighted work removed asap. I doubt seriously any of these websites want to disappear.
This writing may bring some bad responses, but I hope my points ring true.
