The work of writers should not be looked upon with disdain. Just because a literary work is produced under a roof doesn’t mean it is a vain pursuit.
Back during the times when church doors were frequently used as a notice board, the father of Protestanism, Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses and nailed it on the north door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. On the eve of All Saints’ Day, 31 October 1517, Martin Luther started Reformation ball rolling. And he did it by writing.
Back during the times when English translations of the Bible were not readily available, William Tyndale saw at first hand the ignorance of the local clergy. “If God spare my life, ere many years pass, I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the Scriptures than thou dost,” he said to a cleric. William Tyndale set out to make an English translation of the Bible from the Hebrew and Greek. When he was strangled and burnt in October 1536, his last words were, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.” William Tyndale earned himself the title as the “father of the English Bible.” And he did it by writing. 
Philip Melanchton, who supported Martin Luther in Wittenberg, took over the theological leadership after Martin Luther’s death. He wrote the Commonplaces (Loci communes), the first book which described clearly the teachings of the Reformation. He was also responsible for the Augsburg Confession (1530), which is the chief statement of faith in the Lutheran churches. Philip Melanchton remained the only Protestant theologian of his day to represent the views of the people at large. And he did it by writing.
All these people (and more) changed the course of Christian history in magnanimous ways. And all of them did it by writing.
The apostle Paul was once accused to be a cowardly “blogger” of the ancient times. He wrote powerful letters that were not easy to swallow. People found little comfort in reading his letters. Because of that, some people started trying to discredit the authority of his writing by attacking the sincerity of his character. “For his letters,” they say, “are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.” Paul heard it coming. And he replied, “Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when we are present.” (2 Corinthians 10:10-11)
He would’ve loved to be present in person to affirm, correct, or rebuke. But he couldn’t. What choice did he have? Therefore, he wrote. Many hearts were made sorry through reading Paul’s letters, although Paul was not physically present with them. Did Paul feel sorry for his letters?“For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a little while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance.” (2 Corinthians 7:8-9)
Words are powerful things. Each work of writing is like a work of art. More importantly, it is a statement of faith, which ultimately speaks to our hearts and determines our conduct.
Writing was a very tiresome task in times past, when people had to use quill and ink. They had to find a hard, dry surface to write on. They had to do it under some decent lighting that normally came from a lamp. Today, writing is so much easier. And it is so much more readily circulated to every part of the world by just the click of a button. Countless people have benefited through other people’s writings in books, in websites, or in blogs.
It’s at the least, plainly distasteful or at the worst, foolishly offensive to imply that putting thoughts in writing is equivalent to “no action, talk only.”
1 comment:
Interesting...
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