God or Man?

There I stood, staring at several pants and an assortment of tops that littered my bed. Rejects. I’d exhausted my go-to outfits and now moved on to the outer ring, which basically meant my limited fashion creative ability had to kick into gear if I was going to get out of the house and to work on time. That’s right, to work. I wasn’t going to a wedding, or a party, or even a get-together with friends. Nope. All this for a day of play with four-year-olds. Why? My flesh is a people-pleaser.

As we write, we often consider our readers a little too much. What will they think of this idea? Will my readers take this seriously? Will they read this part and criticize me for the way my characters resolved the conflict? On and on and on.

Recently, I was reminded of this. Who are you trying to please, Tracy? Me or Man? God or People? Hmm, I know who I wanted the answer to be, but in reality, was it? This question extended beyond the boundaries of my writing and into the dark crevices of all aspects of life. Including, as I illustrated above, my wardrobe.

I think it’s important as Christian writers, that, while we may not necessarily write about God, we write for Him. What does that look like?

• Do our characters swear? Is using strong language the only way to convey the message?
• Do we include a romantic element that a reader may begin to feel uncomfortable reading?
• Do we hint in our story that something is morally okay when it goes against biblical values?

I’m not saying we can’t have elements of darkness, or bring in real-life raw emotion. But as Christian writers we have an added responsibility. We are called to shine as lights for a very dark world. Not only that, but if you’re like me and you write for our next generation of readers, what kind of message are we portraying to them? The next time I sit down at my computer ready to write, I hope I remember Who it is I am really writing for—the same One who gave me my ability.

Do you ever find it hard to leave out certain elements because you know you should, but think they’d be perfect for your storyline? Do you struggle with bringing in elements of faith into a secular story?