20060610
    Last October, I took a grand risk as I quit a very well paying job to pursue my dream of becoming a full-time writer. This weblog is one facet of that pursuit, which pursuit I have chosen because I believe that God has gifted me with the ability to write and a mind filled with things to write about. While this weblog is not always explicitly about matters of faith, it is always written from a faithful worldview (hence the name, eh?), and that worldview has caused me to venture down a path of thought about how I can continue to pursue this goal of being a full-time writer while at the same time living for the Kingdom of God.
    This though process is motivated by the reality of the sacrifices that my wife and I have made to allow the pursuit of this goal to occur, especially because of the fact that we have had to make significant financial changes to accommodate this pursuit. As a result, I often find myself thinking of my writing in financial terms, weighing my success against the income and lifestyle that I have. In those thoughts, I have come to consider the definition of success that I, and really any Christian, must use when evaluating whether or not what I am doing is successful and worth doing.
    By the world’s definition, there is no doubt that, at least right now, my pursuit of writing is not successful. Indeed, my wife and I have had to make large sacrifices, and money is constantly an item of concern. We have been forced to make serious concessions from our previous lifestyle, concessions that force us to do more on our own with less than we have had in years. Indeed, by the world’s measure, this pursuit of writing is a financial disaster, and one which would prompt most worldly people to abandon it in favor of finding a more ready and reliable income.
    Yet, I have discovered another reality in the sacrifices that my wife and I have made over the past several months. It turns out that, as these months have passed, we are becoming more content with our life than we have been for quite awhile. We are more active in our church and with our family and friends. We spend more time together and, more importantly, together in God’s word. Instead of constantly seeking out new ways to entertain ourselves or to dispose of our excess income, we are spending more time enjoying the life God has given us, to our benefit and to the benefit of all those who come in contact with us.
    Therein lies the lesson of this grand experiment of full-time writing: when one is pursuing the Kingdom by using the gifts God has given for His benefit, then the cares of the world slip away into nothingness. Granted, the sinful temptation to pine about money and worldly success are constantly there, but that temptation is constantly tempered by the fact that when I am writing, I am sure that I am doing what God wants me to be doing. Because of that assurance, I worry less and less about the world’s success, even about my own discomfort, and concentrate more and more on what I need to be doing. In the proper time, I am sure that God will give me what I need, if it is His will for me to continue this pursuit.
    Therefore, this lesson has a global application. As Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25-34, when we are worrying about the world’s success, we are distracting ourselves from the Kingdom. If we are constantly worried about money, the bills, our hyperactive social schedules, and all of those other worldly pursuits, then we are distracting ourselves from the goal of the Kingdom and the path of righteousness through faith that leads us there. Instead, we need to step back and look at what we are doing, what we are pursuing, and what those actions and pursuits are accomplishing, not for ourselves, but for God.
    When we do take that step back, we will often discover that we can toss the cares of the world aside, focusing ourselves instead on the pursuits of the Kingdom. In doing so, we will find true contentment, because we will find ourselves living with what God wants us to have. Like Paul, we can learn to be content with much or with little, knowing all the while that whatever we have is for the service of the Kingdom and the glory of our God.
DLH
