Some Questions on Solitary Endeavors

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Timmay

Puritan Board Freshman
I wanted to pose some questions on solitary endeavors, in my case writing, that I had.

First off, I've been sporadically writing a few novels here and there but have always been discouraged against truly working on them, because there is so much media out there. Even if any of my work got published, it would potentially just be another piece of media for people to consume, and then move on to something else. Would I be adding to an increasingly consumerist culture?

But then my son was born, and I thought, what if I could write stories for him to enjoy? Wonderful. So I've begun.

But my primary question is this, is it God glorifying to spend my time writing, when I could potentially use that extra time (beyond work, normal family time and church time) serving in the church or even my local community? Writing is usually a solitary effort. I already teach a catechism class, and I run the church's library, but my minister has also asked me if I would consider becoming a deacon, for, in his words, helping to prepare me to possibly become an elder in due time.

It is possible that I could have adequate time to do all of this, but my more general question of engaging in a solitary task, that over time would be a lot of hours, has me wondering if time would better spent on more "pragmatic" endeavors. Our culture is so oxymoronic that it values pragmatism, while at the same time engaging in such time wasting tasks, that I think my clarity on this issue is clouded.


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Why would God not be glorified by your using talents he has given you? And there will be times in life when you are more (or less) able to pursue these talents.
 
Writing is a worthy endeavor. I agree with you that our culture is oversaturated with cheap fiction. But good writing for kids that comes from believing authors is always helpful, as is good fiction for adults and much non-fiction. If you want to write, you should be able to pick something worth writing.

So I suppose the thing to ask is why you're concerned about writing being a solitary endeavor. A solitary endeavor is not necessarily wrong. But it could be wrong for you if you are tempted to withdraw from your family or to pull back from serving others, and if you use your writing as an excuse to stick selfishly to yourself. Some people are tempted to do that; others aren't.

I'm a writer and sometimes I use my writing to withdraw in selfish ways. Not all withdrawing is selfish, but it often can be. I have to watch out for that. If you sense this will be a problem for you, it may be best not to start a writing project so that you are better able to love others. But if you can love others and write at the same time, there's no reason to think of writing as a bad endeavor so long as you write good material.
 
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I already teach a catechism class, and I run the church's library, but my minister has also asked me if I would consider becoming a deacon, for, in his words, helping to prepare me to possibly become an elder in due time.

Seems to me your Pastor has already ordained you to teach in the church. Just saying. :)
 
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