Bonfire of the Vanities?

“Is it right? Is it wrong? What do I do?

God approves! No, God despises it.

It’s a stumbling block. It’s a tool.

This reference! That chapter/verse!

But what about them?”

Almost a hundred responses here. I appreciate this group of folks, and Mike’s courage to fashion an arena for the discussion.

Well done.

BIBLE VERSE ALERT! Scripture Reference Coming.

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 1 Cor.3:10-15

Look… Fact is it’s all going to pass through the fire. All our mixed motives, our service, our sacrifice, the “best-attempt” offerings of stunted people from a broken world. All will be revealed for it’s true nature.

We might settle this issue of Faith in Fiction in some of our minds, but never on any broad scale. People love arguing too much. And even if we reach a consensus, we haven’t determined God’s opinion on the matter. “His thoughts and ways, etc, etc,” – you all know the verse. God uses donkeys, madmen, lepers, and devils to do His will. I’d bet He can use our little stories in some way. So much so that I’m continuing to write.

But what do I really know?

I know I have to obey, to respond to His promptings, to learn, to try and sometimes fail. I know that I have to continue in hope, placing my life in His hands trusting sometimes against hope that He can make something out of it. Part of that involves writing. Sermons, Lessons, Poems, Stories, Novels.

Isn’t all love a risk?

They say it takes a fiction writer a million words to find their voice. There are lots of words in that thread. I hope they brought some resolution. But I wonder if they couldn’t have been better spent.