Using Colors
From SPARK
Summary
Cultural adaptation of colors
Think about the symbolic meanings that your audience associates with the colors.
Use the proper colors when you create a teaching aid.
Your audience may consider certain colors to be more desirable than others. They may associate certain colors with undesirable things. They may feel strongly about some colors and less strongly about others. You must think carefully about the symbolic meanings that your audience associates with the colors when you are creating something for teaching. You are not required to use the colors that others have used. You may choose any colors that will help your audience understand the teaching. For example, if you want to create a Book-With-No-Words, we recommend that you make a booklet with the colors that you think are meaningful for your audience, then test those colors with several people. In that way, you will learn whether you have made useful choices. We recommend that you test the colors with your friends first and then with at least two people who do not know you.
Some people teach the same teaching with a Hand that Reminds Us. They have used a cloth glove that fits easily on the hand. It is a useful way to show the colors that symbolize the five concepts. A glove is easy to carry and it is convenient. It does not get spoiled even if it gets pressed by other things in a bag or pocket. The glove might be especially useful when teaching people who do not consider books to be valuable things.
Some people have used a Bracelet That Reminds Us. The bracelet has five colored beads that are easy to see. A person can point to each of the five colors as he teaches the story. You can have a bracelet on your wrist at all times. It will be convenient whenever you want to tell someone the story. If you are creating a teaching scarf with colors, you should think carefully about how the people interpret those colors.
Think about a color that can represent God’s home.
It is important that the person to whom you are showing the booklet associate the color on the first page with pleasantness, with resting, and with the goodness of God. You may consider using a shiny white color (perhaps like the inside of a plastic wrapper from a sweet or perhaps some gift wrapping paper that is available in some shops). When we read Revelation 4:6, 15:2, 21:18-21 in a modern translation, we recognize that God’s town was not yellow, like the gold metal that we have here on earth, but rather it glows with a shining, sparkling, glowing appearance.
Think about a color that can represent our guilt for our sins.
You should choose a color that symbolizes our guilt for our sins or the punishment for our guilt. In many cultures, black is a useful color for this symbol. However, the people in many cultures consider the color black to symbolize desirable things. If your people consider that black is good or fortunate, you should choose another color, a color that has something undesirable about it.
Think about a color that can represent Jesus dying for us.
You should choose a color that symbolizes Jesus dying for us, so that God might forgive us. In many cultures, the color red can symbolize Jesus’ blood and thus it can represent his dying for us. However, in other cultures, there may be a better color that the people consider will symbolize Jesus dying for us all. In some cultures, red may symbolize other ideas, such as happiness. In other cultures, red is a symbol of good fortune.
Think about a color that can represent God forgiving us.
The people in some cultures consider that the color white can symbolize cleanliness and possibly newness. You may use a color that symbolizes the way we humans can feel when we know that God has forgiven us. Alternatively, you could use a color that your audience might associate with God forgiving us.
Think about a color that can represent our new way of living.
In western cultures, the color green has been used to symbolize our becoming more and more like God as his children. Such people consider the way that green plants grow is comparable to the spiritual growing of a new Christian. From that, they suppose that the color green can represent a new Christian changing his way of living toward God’s way. However, in many cultures, the people do not perceive a comparison between plants growing and humans growing. You may choose a different color. It is important that you choose a color that will help the listener to think about a person becoming more and more like God. The color should symbolize our changing to behave in good ways.
