I find as I grow older that I still don’t know the answers to the questions that I had when I was younger but am more at peace with not knowing. But I am discovering along the way that the Holy Spirit is helping me to begin asking some of the right questions.
I thought it might be helpful for others who also for one reason or another enjoy putting words together. If you are a Christian writer then we share a struggle with questions that are unique to that calling. Why am I writing? What are my motivations and goals? Money? Notoriety? Guilt? Loneliness? If we had x-ray vision and could see into hearts we might find out that some books we enjoyed reading have been born from motivations we never imagined. This morning I was touched when I came across this passage from the Apostle Paul as he invites us to look over his shoulder and peer into his writer’s heart.
Take a moment and let his words sink in and then ask yourself as I did today; “Are my words really born out of my own tears and personal experience? Do I really care about my readers or am I simply vying for their attention? Do I have a heart of love for my readers and are my goals for their good or is it all about me?”
Those are hard questions but I am convinced that finding the answers is more than worth the time and effort. What about you? What kinds of questions are you struggling with today? May you truly have a blessed week as you seek the Lord and write as He gives you stories to tell and words to say.
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These are great questions, Pete. Why do I write? Do I genuinely care about my readers and their walk with God, or am I simply competing for their attention? I believe my motivation is right, but plan to prayerfully consider this. Thank you!
Yeah that scripture just leaped off the page to me this morning. Maybe these are great questions to ask myself and not necessarily for everyone. But I always appreciate your feedback Dave.
Those really are great questions, Pastor Pete. You got right to the crux of the issue. “Do I have a heart of love for my readers and are my goals for their good or is it all about me?” That’s the question to ask, not only in why we write – but for all that do. Thanks for the timely and needed reminder!
Pastor Pete, you’ve posed important and hard questions that certainly peal back the layers of my humanness and get to the heart motive. Last week while studying the Sermon on the Mount, I read Matt 6:13 “You are the salt of the earth” and found myself asking these questions about my writing- “Are the lessons I post salty? Do they create a thirst in my readers for more of Jesus? Do they help preserve what is true, virtuous, trustworthy, pure (Phil 4:8)? Do they season (enhance) my readers lives with the Word?
Great questions also. God is looking into all of our hearts and it’s both fearful and yet good. Only He can pull the selfish splinters out of our eyes so we can see clearly enough to live as He does.