Over the last month, my church has been doing a series of messages inspired by the Old Testament book of Esther. In that book, Esther is a young woman who is forced into a beauty pageant run by the king. When she wins that “contest”, she becomes queen. Later, she uses her new position to save the Jewish people from their enemies.
There are many lessons that can be pulled from the story of Esther (my summary above does not nearly do it justice). But one of the lessons that have been mentioned at church was that Esther was not blessed with becoming queen solely for herself to enjoy the royal lifestyle. She was meant to use her position to help others in their time of need.
It can be easy to dismiss the lesson in our modern-day, Western culture. Kings and Queens, Old Testament...it might seem distant to us. But it is not, and the lesson of the story is very pertinent to us today.
Were you born into a country where the laws guaranteed you certain freedoms? It's fine to enjoy those freedoms, but imagine how much more impact you can have by using your freedoms to benefit others.
Do you have money still in your bank account after the bills have been paid? It's okay to enjoy your night at the movies afterwards, but imagine the blessing you can be to others if you use that income to also help those who went through the day without being able to feed their children.
I feel that writing is the same. The stories we create are our stories, but they are not only about us. They are also about everyone we might share the stories with.
If The Pride of Central were to lift up my spirits only, but not offer something positive to anyone who might read it, then there was never much point in writing it in the first place. Even if it hit Number 1 on the sales charts (it hasn't), but it was a story that did not leave readers with something encouraging or uplifting, I would not consider The Pride of Central to be a successful endeavor.
On the other hand, if my book sold just a handful of copies, but the story did do something to give hope to those who read it, then the story is a success in my eyes. Why? Because the blessing was not just a blessing to me. It became a blessing to others.
Maybe that word, “blessing,” is a trouble spot for some people. But being a writer – whether for one story or for dozens of books, poems or screenplays – is a blessing. Consider all it takes to be published. Yes, there is hard work. But that there are also about seven-hundred million people in the world who are illiterate. And not all of those who are literate have the time and opportunity to write. And not all those who have time to write have access to the technology needed to publish their thoughts.
If you have been able to publish your own stories, that is something for you to enjoy. But that is something that only one out of two-hundred people who try to publish a book ever get to experience. If this is you, then yes, you have been blessed. Enjoy that blessing. But also do what is in your power to turn that blessing into a blessing for your readers as well.
(Curious about the story of Esther? Click here for one of my church's messages about it.)
Next week: Inspirations
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