Art and Beauty

I recently finished reading Francis A. Schaeffer's book Art and the Bible.  Mr. Schaeffer's main message was that art was a good thing and that it isn't meant to be hidden or shunned just because some of it might not agree with our faith or the way we view the world.  Some Christians tend to shy away from art because it's beautiful and "worldly".  Schaeffer pointed out that in the bible, God ORDERS art.  When Solomon was building the temple in Jerusalem, God ordered several different kinds of art to be placed in his house.  The walls were covered in gold and carved cherubim.  There were gold pillars at the entrance with gold pomegranates hanging from chains around them.
Schaeffer kept saying over and over again that Christian's should marvel at art because it's beautiful...and God created beauty.  Shunning the beauty in art is like telling God that creating beauty was a mistake.
Does all art portray a good message?  Of course not, but it's still a masterpiece.  Art was made to be marveled at, not to be worshiped.  It's okay to think that something is beautiful and to see God's hand in it.  When it becomes wrong is when you see art as a god, as an idol.  And when you begin to stray away from the fact that whoever made it had a God given talent.
So all that said, art is beautiful and meant to bring glory to God.  The way we honor him by praising art is by seeing that he was the one who gave the artist the skills to create it.  So next time you see any kind of art, thank God for it.  Don't just focus on the beauty of the thing, but praise the God who made the thing.