I Write to Serve Christ and My Neighbor
Originally posted at CraftWrites.com as “I Write to Serve Christ and My Neighbor”
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. — Colossians 3:23–24 ESV
That leading text from Colossians says it all … but I guess I’ll keep writing this post anyway. :)
A significant part of my identity is based on the people I serve. And since my identity (or ‘personal brand’ in business speak) is in Jesus Christ, then I’m called to serve like He did — humbly. If you don’t know, I’m an author, writer and blogger. And I still think too much about myself and how my writing will bless me during the writing process, instead of thinking about how my words will serve my readers. I need to work and pray on being a better servant. Thankfully, I’m getting better at it slowly over time. Your prayers are definitely welcomed.
Most entrepreneurs are advised to find and focus on a specific ideal customer for their business. This is generally a good idea. Your service or product isn’t for everyone. I’ve done a few specific customer discovery exercises and they were helpful in an earthly way. But in my specific case, God had to reveal to me whom I’m to serve. My calling as a writer is closely tied to my Christian faith, so it’s only right for my Heavenly Father to bless me in this way. Writing is the channel through which God is fulfilling His specific good work for me.
My writing serves my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and you, my readers and neighbors. We are told to love God with our everything and to love our neighbor as ourself (Deuteronomy 6:5, Leviticus 19:18 and Leviticus 19:34). Good service is an expression of love. I know many people get paid for the services they provide; but the humble, paid or unpaid, are the best, most genuine servers. Writing is my medium for honest (dare I say, “humble”) expression.
Serving Christ with My Writing
If you’re not a Christian, you might be wondering how I can serve Jesus Christ without Him being physically present on earth right now. There are two ways:
- I serve Jesus in spirit in all that I do because ultimately all things are His.
- I serve Jesus by serving His people.
“For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” — Jesus’ words from Mark 9:41
I serve Christ by writing educational business and marketing-related content for fellow Christians. We don’t approach entrepreneurship in the same way the world does because we generally view business through the same blood-tinted lens. My mission is to inspire and edify citizens of God’s Kingdom with righteous and intelligent business content. But my work doesn’t stop there … I have a light to shine.
Serving My Neighbor with My Writing
It would be ambitious and naive of me to say that my writing serves everyone. That’s simply not true. If you’ve read my other stuff, you’d know that my writing better serves entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial. I desire for you, my neighbor, to take away something powerful and positive from whatever I write. More than that, I hope that you think more about how God might view your business and its practices. And even more than that, I pray that you consider the safety, freedom and hope (beyond business success) in faith in Jesus Christ.
What I Serve
I publish inspiring, educational and biblically aligned business-related blog posts and books. I’m not perfect at it, but I’m trying. Lord willing, I’ll publish a fiction book or two in the future. I realize that “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up (1 Corinthians 10:23). Therefore, I’m choosing, by God’s grace, to focus my writing on content that builds up all people.
Think about whom and how well you are serving at your business or job today. Improve by comparing your service to examples of righteous, obedient service in the Bible. Make adjustments, if needed, and keep pushing forward. I pray that you’re serving your clients/customers/patients/patrons/readers with love, grace, excellence and humility.
