Wednesday, February 7, 2018

A Taste of Your Own Medicine: For The Christian Creative

I've been feeling really self-reflective lately. As I was thinking about what to post this week, I started contemplating the weight of my gifts. I've previously opened up about trying to increase readership on this blog. I've always said that I want more people to read my writing because I believe God gave me this gift to share it with the world. I still don't have a large audience on this platform, but I still believe that it can get to where I want it to be...eventually. Recently though, my focus has shifted from external numbers to internal repair--more specifically, self-help.

Pill bottles / Safe Medicine Disposal

Every so often, I have these bursts of inspiration where everything I'm thinking/feeling spills out of my fingers onto my memo page in a stream of consciousness. The following questions are the result of my latest musings. I think they're questions that every Christian creative should ask themselves at least once in their lifetime:

Am I so busy trying to make a mark that I'm missing the mark? I often say that when I die, I want my gifts to be used up, but am I using enough of my gifts on myself? Am I applying what I write, what I speak to my own life? I'd hate to get to Heaven and hear Him say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. You've drawn men to me, but you forgot to use what I gave you to treat your own stuff..." The bible says we're the light of the world. A city on a hill. Our light cannot be hidden...but do we become so consumed with not being hidden that we forget to self-apply the word that is hidden in our own hearts?

What if my ticket into heaven depends not on how many souls I brought to Christ, but on whether or not I used my talents to minister to myself? What if I'm pouring a little too much into them and not saving enough for myself? Is my stuff for me? Or is it selfish to hold onto what God gave me to share? Am I doing it backwards? Should I taste test it before feeding it to the masses? Is He still glorified by the parts of my gift I keep for myself? I know someone out there needs what I've got, but who needs it the most, me or them? Am I my own target audience? Who am I talking to?

I wrote out these thoughts exactly as they flowed, and I was able to glean one cohesive idea from all of them: As Christian creatives, God gives us our gifts so we can use them to help others heal. Should we use them to heal ourselves before we spread the message? I think the answer is yes. Christian artists, in whatever capacity you operate, whether you're a singer, songwriter, blogger, poet, motivational speaker, etc., look inside your gift and take what you need first. If God gave you something and told you to share it, chances are, you needed it the most in the first place. You are allowed to give yourself a taste of your own medicine.

2 comments:

  1. Amen. That's so true. We sometimes have to be the first partakers of what God has given us to share with others. It's okay to do a taste test. Oh taste and see that the Lord Is Good. Continue sharing your gift with us as the Lord pours into your spirit Siobhan McIntyre. We need more of this type of transparency at such a time as this.

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  2. Amen I truly agree with this. God has blessed each one of us gifts. Thank you this helped me. God bless you.

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