I’ve been thinking about how my faith intertwines with writing and what such an overlap should look like.
In my professional job of programming, I don’t put the gospel into code. I simply write code for whatever functionality is required. There are likely a lot of jobs like this: where the outcome of the product only displays a willingness to do a job well. That can point to Christ indirectly, and as Christians, we certainly should be putting our best efforts forward, but a well-made product doesn’t always reflect the involvement of a Christian worker.
How then, does such a thing translate into the arts, specifically writing? Is putting my best effort into a story enough, or should I only write stories for the purpose of edifying Christians or sharing the gospel with the lost? Can I ever write a story simply to provide entertainment? Since the end product can actually show something other than its craftsmanship, should it always point to God?
One thing that I feel bound to uphold is an amount of decency. What I mean by that is that it doesn’t seem right to fill a page with indecent material. The specific line I draw on this may not be the same as someone else, but it seems that if I decide not to adhere to God’s direction, I’m likely to follow my flesh into some horrible places.
Aside from the decency issue, I feel that the theme shouldn’t go against Christ or the Bible. Perhaps the theme isn’t overtly Christian, but if I write a story with a point of contradicting scripture, how could I be following Christ in writing such a tale?
For me, the answer seems to lie in my communication with God. He always influences what I’m writing, and so long as I follow Him, I can know that I’m serving Him with each story that I write. Some stories may not have powerful Christian themes and may seem to be for pure entertainment, but even as such, I seek to provide an entertainment that readers will not feel embarrassed for reading.
What kind of a writer I really am will be revealed on that great Day in the future. Of all the critics, I only have to answer to One.
