Writer's regret?

 

 

In 2017, Josh Harris, the author of “I kissed dating goodbye”, a book that was hugely popular in the late 90’s, publicly renounced what he wrote after hearing stories of how people had used his book to cause pain and shame. Since then, there’s been a wariness and even a backlash against other Christian books on the theme of relationships.

Coincidentally, 2017 was the year I published my own Christian book for singles, about relationships and marriage. What great timing! Thankfully, I had never read Josh Harris’s book, even though I was the target age for it in 1997, so it had a minimal influence on my own work, but it did make me very aware, about the power of our words to influence.

For example, before publishing my book I was encouraged to collect ‘endorsements’ that would be printed inside the book, so I sent a pdf to several people and awaited their feedback. One person told me that reading my book had changed her life.

Instead of being happy that my book was fulfilling the purpose for which it had been written, I was suddenly gripped by a fear that I had the power change a person’s life! What if I got it wrong? What if I lived to regret the power of my own words, like Josh Harris?

In my moment of panic, I was encouraged by 1 Corinthians 2:1-4 where Paul writes:

“And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.”

I knew that God had called me to write my story – to tell my testimony about God and then submit it to Him, first and foremost, before any publisher. If God wasn’t in it, I could trust him that any influence would be fleeting and insubstantial.

I also realised that if God did choose to speak to people through my book, then that was his business and I could trust him with that too. After all, only God can truly change a person’s heart.

This same thought has helped me come to terms with the fact that my first book didn’t become the instant bestseller I had hoped for (I know it was a naïve expectation, but I’ve always been a naïve optimist!).

At Spring Harvest in 2017, the month of my book launch, I sold just 3 copies. I cried with disappointment. Then, I felt the still, small voice of the Lord encouraging me to praise my Father and be thankful for the three. After all, it could be three lives changed. Or it could be hundreds of people avoided - those who would have taken my words the wrong way. Either way, praise the Lord.

I'd like to encourage you not to write in fear, because it is the Lord who gives the influence. And if that’s just one or two people, praise the Lord. If God decides to send the wind of His Spirit to carry your words far and wide then praise the Lord! And for all the space in between, Praise the Lord!

Joanne Gilchrist is mother of 3 and runs the charity, Ruach Resources, which is the home of God for Kids app and the Animals of Eden Valley series (a series of one at the moment - called "Who Made God?" - but I'm working on it!). 

She also wrote the autobiographical "Looking for Love" and freelances for the SunScool app.