You Can Do Better
Dear reader,
I have been spending so much time recently reading books just to obtain knowledge or wisdom I didn’t already possess, that I realize I began to push off to the side the very thing I enjoyed the most.
Stories.
Sure most books include stories here and there, whether they're recounting a horrible decision or trial they walked through, or maybe they are recounting some memory of their childhood.
A few days ago I had the idea and some sort of vision/inspiration for a book.
I was watching the season finale of the TV show Percy Jackson and the Olympians. After I was done I watched the 50-minute bonus feature showing how the show was made and all the different moving pieces that came together to make such a grand story.
But I felt a little twinge in my heart. “God, are you glorified by this story?”
After I sat back and meditated on this question I came to the conclusion that God was not amused or impressed by the narrative. Yes, there are redemptive qualities that could be dug up, but the point of the story is not to bring God glory, and it clearly shows.
The show’s protagonist is a Demi-god. (Which should set the tone for this discussion.) But the idea of Greek mythology playing out in our day-to-day life is intriguing.
One of the major focuses in the story is how distant and uninvolved the gods are. They ignore their children, don’t speak with them, they use them to get what they want.
They’re horrible parents and a horrible representation of our God.
This struck me hard, and I asked God what I was supposed to do with these feelings.
“You could do better.”
The thought seemed to have a voice, and I did a bit of a double-take. “You want me to write something better than Percy Jackson?”
”It’s not that hard. I don’t want perfection, I want honest and human storytelling.”
I leave you here for now, there is much more to be said about the story I believe God wants me to write. But more is to be revealed in time, not for my sake, but for His.
Sincerely,
Your Fellow Writer in Arms
-Mitchell
