Praying God's Wisdom: The Gift of Blogging

 

If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.  1 Peter 4:11

 I’m a very open person. I’ve been accused of “processing publicly.” When something’s on my heart I share it, and I don’t limit it to the people in my house or in my home group, I share it with the world on my blog. Well, I share it with the people that God puts my blog in front of and I’m not entirely sure how many or who that will be, so I figure it’s just public knowledge. In the suggested reading today (Matthew 5:14-16 and 1 Peter 4:10-11), Jesus talks about how we should be like a city on a hill, letting our light shine and not diminishing it. Paul also commissions us to use the gifts that God has given and allow them to glorify Him.

 Today’s verse tells me to live at 100%. It says that if we speak, we should speak as if they were the very words of God. Don’t hold back. Don’t shrink down your message to make it more palatable. If we serve, we should do so with the strength God provides, all of it. We don’t have to save some for later, He’ll take care of that too. As a writer, I’m always editing. Sometimes that’s good, I’m editing out my side thoughts so as not to detract from the message God gave me. Sometimes it’s tempting though to edit down my message so that it will be more acceptable, easier to take, but that’s not what God wants us to do. If He gives me words to share, whether they will be read by one person or a million people, I need to be faithful to publish them. Sometimes I’m embarrassed by the length of my posts, worrying that I took too much of people’s time in reading them, but those posts are the ones I’m most passionate and excited about, and I truly believe that is from God and should not be stifled. So, I guess, I just need to leave it to others to have healthy boundaries and read as much as is right for them and I don’t need to worry about it.

 Along the lines of editing, though, I also need to be careful that I am writing for God and not for man. If you take a class on writing a blog, which I have, they teach you to figure out what people want and give it to them. They highlight Search Engine Optimization (SEO). They encourage you to see which posts have gotten the most hits, the most likes, the most shares and write more like that. There’s a part of me that loves to solve a puzzle and optimize things, I’ve written about my budgeting and even how I’ve sought to engineer a sweet spot with my health, but this is where I draw the line. I need to write about what God has put on my heart, not what the algorithm says. If God wants me to write about a cruise I’m dreaming of or the Bible study I did that morning or the newest crazy financial tool I’m using, I write about it. Sometimes I get flak for it. Sometimes people tell me I shouldn’t share so much, that it’s too personal, that I’m sharing more than is appropriate in a public setting. The thing is, if you run into me in the grocery store, even as a complete stranger, I wouldn’t hesitate to tell you about any of the things I’ve mentioned on my blog. I’m the same in person as I am online, no difference. I’ve talked with people at Disney World about my brain tumor or in an airport about EDS. I’m just as likely to share with someone sitting on a bus next to me about my kids as I am on here, whether they like it or not 😂. But I’m not sad about it. It’s who I am, how God made me, and I believe it glorifies Him. I’m not about to hide Him under a bushel – NO! I’m gonna let it shine (IYKYK)!

 Is there a moderation in this? For better or worse, yes. I have a few posts sitting in my drafts that will likely never see the light of day. I struggle with the reality of having “lost my filter” and my thoughts just spilling out of my mouth unintentionally. I’m not at peace with my full disclosure, and perhaps that’s because I’m not fully at peace with who I am. Why do I want to hold back some of my thoughts? Because they’re embarrassing mostly. Are they true? Well, yes. That’s the challenge. In light of today’s verse, I wonder if I should embrace my lack of a filter more. No, I still won’t publish the hidden posts, but that’s out of respect for others that are discussed in them, not me. But when the truth pops unbidden from my tongue, rather than apologize and try to take it back or hide in a corner ashamed of what I’ve said, maybe I just need to smile. Hey, at least it gives my husband something to laugh at, and I do love his laugh!

Here’s the Thing: I don’t want to write the “right” thing. I don’t want to play the game and give you what “tickles your ears” (2 Timothy 4:3). I want to use the gifts God gave me to glorify Him, even if it humbles me, maybe especially if it humbles me. I’m not afraid to share the dark, embarrassing parts because I think people need to hear that. They need to see their experiences echoed in someone else so they don’t feel alone. I know that’s been such a blessing for me when others do this, and I’d like to minister to others in that as well, even if it means I will become even more undignified than this (2 Samuel 6:22)!