Don’t Focus on Christianity

It isn’t a new idea. It isn’t revolutionary.

But it bears repeating.

As Christians, we should not sit down to create the next great Christian piece of art, be it a book or painting or movie. It’s a terrible idea and if that’s all we have to go on it will end up stilted, cringy, and dull as a rusted coin that’s lain in a gutter all winter.

Here’s why.

When we sit down to write something ‘Christian,’ we’re starting with a handful of preconceived ideas that will limit us.

Maybe it’s the idea that being a good Christian involves daily Bible reading, prayer, and journaling. Maybe it’s the premise that good Christians go to church at least once a week. Maybe it’s the idea that a Christian will most definitely have a particular political stance.

Whatever the case, if your end goal is simply to write something Christian, you’re going to restrict yourself far more than necessary.

Instead, focus on writing Truth.

God is Truth. So is His word. If we focus on that, we will end up writing about God too. And in a much more personable and relatable way.

1. Learn Truth

Obviously, we can’t speak God’s truth if we don’t know it. So yes. We should read the Bible and pray and grow in our relationship with God.

We should also live. Not just exist day to day, but interact with others, pursue dreams, fail and succeed and experience life in whatever way we are called.

Living is the process that transfers what we know in our heads to what we know in our hearts. It’s something we must do regardless of how we present that truth to others.

2. Speak Truth

This will look different for all of us. For me, one way I speak Truth is through my writing. For others, it’s through songs or drawing.

For you, maybe it’s expressing Truth to others through cooking or coaching. Maybe it’s through emails or texts or conversations.

The cool part is that, even though we’re constantly learning and will never get to a point where we have everything perfectly right, we’re still called to share what we do know with others. And what we do know can change lives. Not because we were so smart and figured it out, but because that’s simply what God’s truth does.

3. Live Truth

We can talk all we want, it doesn’t matter if we aren’t applying the truth we’re learning to our own lives.

What we learn needs to affect how we walk. After all, this is about growing in a relationship with God, which is arguably the most important goal out there. What we learn, we learn to apply. Not just to teach others.

And finally, trust God to handle the results of His truth.

It’s not up to us to save everyone. Or anyone, actually. That’s God’s job. He is Truth, not us. He knows what He’s doing and His plans are way bigger than ours.

We’re just here to reflect His truth. So let’s reflect it to the best of our ability. Then let God do the rest.