I was recently journaling for my quiet time, and our son, Big Kid, was front and center on my heart. He is very bright, but he just struggled through the second half of his junior year because he’s more interested in the fun and social aspects of high school right now. He’s basically a human golden retriever and receives so much life from “playing” with his buddies. As I journaled my prayers for Big Kid, I asked the Lord to help him see his efforts this coming school year – his senior year – as an act of worship. Even though his grades have taken a dive toward lackluster this past spring, spiritually, he’s on fire. He led his brothers on the football team in a bible study every Friday morning. He was selected by his coaches for the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) Award as the player who most represents the organization’s four core values of Integrity, Serving, Teamwork, and Excellence. He is an encourager and the first to jump in and pray with or for someone. But his discipline stops there.
Penning these words for my man-child, I was struck as how the same could be said for me. Probably for a lot of us. I’d like to think that my faith invades every aspect of my life. But a few moments of introspection will show me that I often compartmentalize my life. Some parts I dedicate to the Lord, but some I do not. I’ve always struggled with living out my faith in the everyday mundane grind of life. How exactly does my love of the Lord play out while I’m doing laundry, preparing meals, grocery shopping, or washing dishes? When my to-do list becomes my taskmaster, any effort to glorify God with my work goes out the window.
I am an aspiring author. My focus is Christian fiction, my genres: romantic suspense and contemporary romance. My current WIP is a rewrite, and it is a slog. I decided after completing the first draft that the book should actually be the first in a series, so I am significantly changing this first manuscript, pulling out a lot of material for a subsequent story, and fleshing out more details of the original draft. Somedays the words flow like water. Other days feel like I am wandering the wilderness. I spend much time in prayer, begging God for direction and just WORDS. Despite these prayers and that the story highlights a character’s faith journey that will hopefully point people to Jesus, I’m not sure I genuinely see my writing – my work – as an act of worship.
The world of writing, the INDUSTRY (insert deep, solemn voice here), can be overwhelming. As much as I’d love to just write for myself and feel fulfilled, the deepest desire of my heart is to create stories that resonate with people struggling through real life, introducing them to characters they relate to and who give them hope. Which means being published. There is so much more to becoming published now beyond simply crafting an excellent story. Websites and established blogs are basic requirements. Platforms must be built and grown. Robust mailing lists are an absolute necessity. Authors need an engaged social media presence. To a simple girl who really does not love social media, it’s a lot.
My rebellious heart wants to push back. Is all that really necessary? I mean, I just want to share interesting stories with compelling characters to inspire hope in others. Why is all this excess required? Hmmm, when I quiet the bucking of my heart, I realize that obviously the experts in publishing have finely tuned what is best to share books with the most potential readers. And as a writer with publishing aspirations, I have a duty to honor and respect the requirements laid out by the experienced leaders in the industry. Colossians 3:23 reminds me: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” Yikes, my toes are officially stepped on. Rightly so.
I am reminded of Romans 12:1-2, where Paul tells us: “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” The words “spiritual service of worship” speak to me. The NIV translation calls it “your true and proper worship.” We are to present ourselves – and as an overflow of that, all that we do – as a living sacrifice. It is the true, proper, spiritual thing to do. It is what we are called to, and it is what we were created to do.
After all, our talents and passions come from the Lord. If we want to live a life of purpose and meaning, how better to do this than infuse our efforts at work of any kind with our love for God and His people? We should strive to carry out our work with diligence, excellence, and integrity. We were created for both work and worship, but when we shift our focus from ourselves to the mission of loving and serving others, can’t work and worship overlap? And shouldn’t they?
I have endeavored to do this. In my work for our home life, I am trying to make a habit of praying for my family members while I fold their laundry. As I plan and prepare nutritious meals, I remind myself that our bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit and we are called to be good stewards of them. I have begun praying about my writing life as a whole, a complete effort encompassing the multiple aspects of working toward publication, all with my potential audience in mind. Not just focusing on the brainstorming and plotting, character development, wordsmithing, and other fun parts, but also the business side of things: social media, potential reader engagement, my website/blog, and exploring ways to grow a mailing list in a way that serves my readers. All the while, I seek God’s will for me on this journey, because loosely paraphrasing Exodus 33:15, if the Lord is not taking me there, I don’t want to go.
How do you view work? Do you treat your work as an act of worship? In what ways do you worship the Lord beyond at church on Sunday?