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The Scribal Anointing
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Theresa H. Johnson
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Theresa H. Johnson
How to retain my Christian identity when writing fiction?
©
Copyright 2003 Theresa Harvard Johnson
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The ministry of Christian creative writing has so much power in the
world. Just think! We are the “unspoken” mouth pieces of God, dedicating
our lives to conveying the revelations he presents to us creatively
through pen and paper – or in this age, through keyboard and monitor!
I’ve heard many people say, “Anyone with a good hook can write a story.”
And yes, to some degree this is true; however, not everyone can
accurately and righteously convey the creative words of the Lord. (See
Article, Christian writing is about more than just telling a good
story.) That - my brothers and sisters – is something that only the Holy
Spirit can do through us. So when we say we write for the Lord, it means
we are writing “the words of God” – period. It means we are leaving
ourselves behind, and writing prophetically, those words that he speaks
through us.
The Question: Recently, a brother in Christ asked me this
question: “How do I handle the challenge of wanting to be true to the
language of unbelievers in my fiction writing (based on real situations,
including profanity) while my conscience prevents me from writing
fiction at all?”
The Answer: The answer is quite simple really. We must learn to
let go of our own agendas (writing agendas) and allow God to work
through us according to HIS will – not ours. God knows who must receive
the writing he has placed in our spirit, and he already knows how those
who receive it will respond. Consider for a minute Paul of Tarsus, the
Jesus-hater and Christian-killer from the New Testament. His life was
transformed on the road to Damascus as Jesus spoke to him from the
heavens. Then later, a stranger – who simply trusted the word of the
Lord that came to him – went to Paul of Tarsus and delivered the words
of the Lord. God had already prepared the way. Paul is now known
throughout the Bible as one of the greatest Apostles who ever lived, and
all the stranger had to do was walk in obedience to God for this promise
to be fulfilled.
As far as conscience is concerned, this is the pulling or the leading of
the spirit of the Lord to lead us to make the right choice. When we have
a personal relationship with him, and are operating out of his will in
our gifting – particularly writing – he will not let us go fourth until
clarity is received or a new level of understanding in his purpose for
the gift is reached. Once this mountain has been removed, then the words
he places inside will indeed come forth according to his will.
The Answer Explained:
First, we must ask ourselves this question: Am I writing because God has
placed a word in my heart to deliver to people assigned to my ministry,
or am I writing to fulfill a personal goal or to reach the people I
believe I need to impact? On God’s plane of existence we simply do what
he asks us to do, and we leave the outcome up to him. We are obligated
to be true to two people: ourselves and God. As Christians, this truth
also comes with a serious level of accountability. In Luke 6:41-42 the
Bible says, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s
eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say
to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when
you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first
take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove
the speck from your brothers eye.”
Yes, there are many interpretations of this scripture. Its purpose here,
however, is to support this single point: God wants us to be true to
ourselves first – no matter the situation or circumstance. House
cleaning starts at home, not in the apartment across the street. We are
either for God 100 percent or against him. As a believer, it is never
okay to make efforts to please the world. Let me say that again, it is
never okay to make efforts to please the world. We do not have to resort
to world tactics to draw unbelievers to Christ.
If Jesus didn’t do it, neither will I! Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform
any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
We are only obligated to remain true to the word of God, the spirit of
the Lord, and the teachings of Jesus Christ. So when it comes to
“remaining” true to the language of unbelievers – we cannot do that as
Christian creative writers because it is not reflective of the truth.
John 4:23-24 reads, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the
kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit and his worshipers
must worship in spirit and in truth.”
Believe it or not, Christian fiction is biblical. Fiction, in terms of
definition, is something invented by the imagination or feigned;
specifically, it refers to an invented story. Biblically speaking, we
can say that Christian fiction is a story created to teach a biblical
lesson or to explain a biblical truth. There are
many such stories throughout the bible, but particularly in the gospels
of the New Testament. Jesus often spoke to his disciples in parables or
short fiction stories. There is no need to go into detail here ... just
read the gospels for yourself.
On another note, many “real situations” are captured in the bible
through writing. The integrity of the stories was upheld, without
compromising the word of God. Consider for a minute the stories
concerning the life and lineage of King David. Scripture depicts him as
a womanizer, an adulterer, and a murderer. His son Amnon raped his
daughter Tamar. His son Absalom murdered his brother Amnon or raping his
sister Tamar. Later, Absalom turned on his father and tried to over
throw his kingdom, which ultimately resulted in Absalom’s death. Though
this story is biblical truth, it makes for a very good story – even for
someone in the world.
The bible is chock-full of stories like these! There is also a basis for
Christian romance in the Bible, and I am not just writing about the Song
of Solomon.
The difference between what the world is writing creatively, and what
God is inspiring creatively through modern day scribes – is worlds
apart. All of our work lead directly back to salvation, sanctification,
deliverance, love, and righteous living through the word of God. With
that said, I leave you with this:
Proverbs 4:1-5
"Hear, my children, the instruction of a father,
And give attention to know understanding;
For I give you good doctrine:
Do not forsake my law.
When I was my father's son,
Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother,
He also taught me, and said to me:
"Let your heart retain my words;
Keep my commands, and live.
Get wisdom! Get understanding!
Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth."