How I Write Versus How I Live
I’ve been thinking lately how difficult it is to live what I write. In my books like Soul Physicians and Spiritual Friends, I write about living the Christian life and being a Christian friend.
Frequently I fail at both.
While pondering my dilemma, I stumbled upon a quote from Samuel Johnson’s The Rambler (1750, Essay 14). (See Sympathy for Hypocrites by John Zahl at his blog Mockingbird.)
“It is not difficult to conceive that for many reasons a man writes much better than he lives. For, without entering into refined speculations, it may be shown much easier to design than to perform. A man proposes his schemes of life in a state of abstraction and disengagement, exempt from the enticements of hope, the solicitations of affection, the importunities of appetite, or the depressions of fear, and is in the same state with him that teaches upon land the art of navigation, to whom the sea is always smooth, and the wind always prosperous…
We are, therefore, not to wonder that most fail, amidst tumult and snares and danger, in the observance of those precepts, which they laid down in solitude, safety, and tranquility, with a mind unbiased, and with liberty unobstructed… Nothing is more unjust, however common, than to charge with hypocrisy him that expresses zeal for those virtues which he neglects to practice; since he may be sincerely convinced of the advantages of conquering his passions, without having yet obtained the victory.”
Well put. Two lines summarize it best for me.
“It is not difficult to conceive that for many reasons a man writes much better than he lives.”
“Nothing is more unjust, however common, than to charge with hypocrisy him that expresses zeal for those virtues which he neglects to practice; since he may be sincerely convinced of the advantages of conquering his passions, without having yet obtained the victory.”
I want to live well what I write. However, I’m not there yet.
More importantly, I want to live well what is written in God’s Word. I’m certainly not there.
I’m thankful for the grace of God in Christ.
Join the Conversation
How do you deal with living imperfectly your own teaching, writing, or counseling?
I am also thankful for the grace of God. He gives me opportunity to fail, confess, repent and try again.
Great post and one I identify with on a deep level. I am continually amazed that God allows broken people to minister to broken people through the written word. After participating in a rather large writing project, I felt a deep sense of hypocrisy. I found that all I could do was thank God that He is merciful in allowing a sinner like me to participate in sharing Him with the world, praise Him that He is powerful enough to use it in the lives of others in spite of me, and pray that He would continue to use the same message in my life to transform me more into the image and likeness of Christ.
Deb and Chrystie, I’m glad I’m not alone in this “author-feels-hypocritical” mindset. I know I was encouraged by Johnson’s quote. Amazing how material from 100s of years ago is still “fresh” today. Bob
I was just thinking about this yesterday! It is MUCH easier for me to write/blog about biblical counseling topics, an insight into a particular passage, or review a particularly moving (or convicting) book than it often is to pray, meditate on Scripture, and walk in repentance. I can’t tell you what a hypocrite I feel like sometimes – the other day, I was inserting a footnote from C.J. Mahaney’s “The Cross-Centered Life” while painfully aware that I haven’t visited the foot of the Cross myself lately.
Writing can be done on auto-pilot, even “Christian” writing, when you’ve done your homework. That’s both a good and bad thing. Even in our “dry” seasons, God can still sovereignly use our work to bless others — my readers probably cannot tell on a given day where I am spiritually. However, it’s also bad because we can inadvertently hide behind the “fig leaf” of doctrinally-sound writing. I was horrified once when I received an e-mail from a young woman pleading for help with her bulimia, which included the words: “…because you are such a good Christian, may I ask…” Ouch.
Anyway, thank you so much for this insight today. A good reminder to keep turning to the only One Who make us clean vessels for His use.