What is that to You?

By Sara Davison

As writers, I believe we wrestle with many of the same issues: self-doubt, lack of confidence, times of being blocked creatively, discouragement. Most of us also have a tendency to compare ourselves to other writers, worrying more about what they are doing or achieving than focusing on our own lives and work.

Peter struggled with this. When Jesus spoke to him about the manner in which he would die, Peter looked over at John and said, “What about him?” Jesus immediately set him straight by telling him that His plans for John (or anyone else) were not Peter’s business. All he needed to focus on was following Jesus.

This is a lesson I need to be reminded of often. Is someone more popular or successful as an author than I am? What is that to me? Are someone else’s children accomplishing greater  things or winning more awards than mine? Those are God’s plans for them. God’s plans for my children are different. Does someone else appear to endure fewer trials, experience greater health, travel more, own more, be more respected in their field, at church, online, or anywhere else? Beyond being happy for them and grateful to God for blessing their lives, none of that is my concern.

If as a writer I am envious of other writers, I’m not truly envying them, I am envying God’s will and plan for their lives. In doing so, I am robbing myself of the joy and peace and contentment of simply focusing on what God has planned for me.

As a writer who is also a Christian, envying my fellow Christian authors means resenting what they are doing to glorify God, to help further His Kingdom. The best antidote for that kind of thinking is found in I Thessalonians 5:11, which says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” As writers, we know that whenever we see the word “Therefore” it is important to look and see what it is there for, or what came before it. The verse before it says, “He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.”

That’s pretty good motivation to encourage and build up fellow believers in their work. If Christ suffered and died for the sake of the Kingdom, then, out of love and obedience to Him, surely we can encourage and build up other Christian writers who are also obeying a call from God to write for His glory.

In the movie, City Slickers, the old cowpoke Curly holds up a finger and tells Billy Crystal’s character, Mitch, that the secret to life is one thing. When Mitch asks him what that one thing is, Curly replies, “That’s what you have to find out.”

We can spend our whole lives trying to find out what that one thing is, or we can go back to Jesus’ words to Peter, “… what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:22) If we do that one thing, follow Jesus, imitating Him in all things, including our writing, that is all we need to do.

Sara Davison is the author of twelve romantic suspense novels and is a Word, Cascade, and two-time Carol Award winner. She resides in Ontario with her husband Michael. Like every good Canadian, she loves coffee, hockey, poutine, and apologizing for no particular reason. Get to know Sara better at www.saradavison.org.