From Edie: Discover the first three Be-Attitudes for Writers from Matthew 5. Learn how humility, mourning, and meekness shape God’s purpose in your writing.
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The Be-Attitudes for Writers: Finding God’s Purpose in Your Writing (Part 1)
by Edie Melson @EdieMelson
I want to share some attitudes and practices that I found in Scripture. I took all of these from Matthew 5, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. If you're like me, they'll fuel your path of writing for years to come!
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? In God’s economy being poor in spiritual means we are spiritually bankrupt. We have nothing within ourselves that will save us. It does NOT mean we’re worthless, Jesus loved each of us enough to die for us. Each of us is precious to God. No, Instead it’s an acknowledgement that apart from Christ, we bring nothing to the table. I believe Jesus begins with this beatitude because before we can learn anything or serve Him or allow Him to work through us, we must acknowledge He is all we have. We are essentially bankrupt.
Unpacking this for Writers
I think every writer must begin here, with humility. We must understand this is a calling, an endeavor we practice, but we never arrive. I talk to writers every week who are just coming into this industry and they have everything mapped out.
They come in looking for confirmation that their plan and way is right instead of being open to hearing from God.
They're not alone. This is exactly what I did after I accepted God’s call to write, I began praying about what He wanted me to write. At the time, He was doing a great thing in the lives of Kirk and I. He was teaching us to study His word through Precept ministries. Because of what I’d learned, I’d just ventured away from someone else’s Bible study and began writing my own.
It was modeled after the precept method and was a 12 week study about taking captive every thought. As I sat down to continue my personal study, I felt God’s nudge to write that for more than just me.
Within weeks of finishing it, my first opportunity came to speak at a women’s retreat on that subject. It was a heady experience—even for someone who wasn’t comfortable with public speaking.
After that, I purchased the Writer’s Market Guide and sent off a query letter to Broadman and Holman publishers. They were the main arm of the Southern Baptists publishing and since I was Baptist, I thought it would be a great fit.
I received a letter back, requesting the full manuscript. And there was rejoicing in the Melson household that night! I was certain of the path God had planned. I’d begin speaking and teaching, essentially becoming just like Beth More and Kay Arthur.
Almost a year later I actually got a phone call from the editor who had my manuscript. He’d taken it to the editorial board and it had passed. Next he would present it to the sales and marketing team.
On December 23, I received, not a phone call, but a letter. In it he explained how sorry he was and that I should continue to write and grow, but that they had to be good stewards of their money and I had no platform. In the letter it actually mentioned that the answer would have been different if my name had been Beth Moore. Ouch.
It was a difficult Christmas. Not only was I dealing with the devastation of being rejected, I immediately saw that the root of the issue was my expectations were wrong. God was explaining to me—in a way I could understand that He didn’t intend for me to be the next Beth More, or anyone else. He had a plan specifically suited to me, Edie Melson. So I had to decide. Would I quit because things hadn’t gone the way I planned, or would I remain obedient and admit I was nothing without God.
2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Boy oh boy did I have mourning down that Christmas. But what exactly does mourn mean, here in this context, in the original language? This specific use of the word mourn in the Greek is the strongest word for mourning in that language. It’s a word used for mourning the dead and is a passionate outcrying for someone who is greatly loved.
Unpacking this for Writers
I don’t know about you, but I LOVED my idea of what my writing could do for the world and how God could use it.
But in the context of this verse and passage, the great mourning is specifically over our personal sin and the sins of the world. This mourning should never lead us into an I’ve got an answer for that, mindset. God allows this kind of cleansing grief into our lives as a path, not as a destination.
This path leads us somewhere beautiful. We’re promised comfort and the ability to fellowship with Jesus in His sufferings. We embrace a closeness to the Man of Sorrows. This mourning and periods of grief in our lives gives our writing depth. And allows us to engage with a hurting world, not just as one who has all the answers, but people who have been there and walked through this difficult path.
I’ve experienced this several times. With my writing and devastated dreams. And also in life. This leads me to the next attitude I’ve learned to embrace.
3. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. This Greek word is difficult, actually impossible, to translate into a single English word. The best definition I’ve ever heard was strength under control. The idea would be similar to a strong stallion that was trained for a job, like warfare, and used his strength to do the job instead of running wild. This idea of meekness also implies humility and a freedom from malice or vengeance. Someone who is truly meek is able to get angry and not sin. They are not easily provoked by others.
Unpacking this for Writers
Strength under authority—as believers who write, we have the power of God’s Spirit running through us. When we are yoked with Christ, we have unlimited strength. Words are powerful, the world has known this for eons. That’s why we have common sayings like the pen is mightier than the sword.
Like a stallion trained for warfare—I used that specific metaphor on purpose. Anytime we do anything with God, we will come under attack. Our writing is no exception. What we are doing here, has the potential to impact the entire world. You better believe that the enemy is all over that. But when we’re operating under God’s authority, all the enemies of hell cannot stand against us.
But when we enter into this writing thing with our plans all mapped out—just asking God’s approval—we find ourselves operating in our own strength. This isn’t meekness. This attitude can limit the reach of our words. God promises that the meek will inherit the earth. This means we can be confident God watches out for us and won’t allow us to end up on the short end of the stick. That promise finds it’s culmination in God’s timing though, not ours.
These first 3 be-attitudes have to do with fleshly desires and appetites that we must bring into submission to God. Once we have brought, or are in the process of bringing these fleshly attitudes under God’s authority, we go on to the remaining be-attitudes in tomorrow's post.
Now it's your turn, what experiences do you have with these attitudes? What questions? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings
Edie
TWEETABLE
She and husband Kirk have been married 43+ years with three grown sons and four grandchildren. They live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and can often be found with their big black dog hiking the mountains.
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