What does it mean to be a Christian blogger? Is there an implied difference between being a “Christian blogger” and a “blogger who happens to be Christian”?
I think the difference is that to be a Christian blogger implies that your blog will necessarily reflect that you are a Christian, even that your primary subject will be Christ-centric. On the other hand, a blogger that just happens to be a Christian may have a blog which reads like any other blog, rarely if ever mentioning our splendidly sovereign Savior.
I wonder, though, if the Truth allows for such a blog to exist?
Well over 2,000 years ago, it was recorded in what we know as the Book of Ecclesiastes that, “The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh” (12:11–12).
Poignant words, but I would expect nothing less from the Scriptures. “The words of the wise are like goads,” the Preacher tells us; a goad is a prod used for directing cattle. The words of the Scriptures–of Moses, David, Solomon, the Evangelists, and so on–direct the hearts of man just as a cattle prod directs cattle, and their words are engrafted into the hearts of man, as fixtures hung with nails upon a wall.
The wise writers aren’t here limited to only the biblical writers, but includes all those who are in agreement with them and who likewise echo the biblical subject of Jesus Christ. The collection of the wise is vast, including, for example, men like Enoch (who did not author any of the Scriptures yet who we know was a prophet) as well as reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin.
This group, those the Bible calls wise, includes many modern day bloggers, which brings me to my point:
Of the making of blogs there is no end. If the Preacher had reason to complain about the plethora of available books in his day which did not reflect the wisdom and the light of Truth, how magnified would be his concern if he were writing today in a world where countless millions can publish anything to a mind-blowingly large audience.
If you spend much time online, you have undoubtedly noticed that the vast majority of blogs are not written from a Christian worldview and, if they are, chances are that the Christianity they espouse bears little resemblance to that of the Bible. Such, however, is the condition of mankind, and we ought not to be surprised that the Internet reflects it.
The wisdom of Ecclesiastes, then, is perhaps doubly as important as it was twenty-five hundred or so years ago.
The Preacher declares, “beware of anything beyond” wise writings.
Am I, as a Christian author, contributing wisely to the Internet, or am I simply adding more static to the noise which does little more than to stifle the Gospel?
What about you, Christian friend? Would the Preacher commend your blog to others, or would he have told warned them away? Or is your blog such that even though you have wise things to say, sifting through all of the (to borrow from the Preacher) vanities is simply not worthwhile?
I would like to think that Kingdom Geek falls into that first category, that had the Preacher been alive today, he would be subscribed to my blog and enjoy each post as it shows up in his reader. I’d like to think that, but I know all too well that my content is a mix of the worthwhile and the worthless, and it very likely isn’t worthwhile to dig throughit all to find the wisdom in the midst of the cruft.
When the Preacher’s words came to mind earlier, only the phrase “of the making of books there is no end” came to mind. That phrase alone has spurred me to examine my blog and what I write. I found it a wonderful show of the Scripture’s efficacy, then, when I saw that coupled with the words about books was a note about the Scriptures and other wise writings: they are like a goad, inciting action in those who hear them.
I’m resolving that henceforth my writing will better reflect the wisdom of the Shepherd. It would be great if after leaving this blog, readers would be left with the same impression that the Preacher sought to leave at the close of Ecclesiastes: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (12:13–14).
