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Step OneWe admitted that we are powerless over our human desire for fame, wealth, and power – that our writing life had become unmanageable.

For the last two weeks we have been looking at step one of the twelve steps necessary to becoming a peacefully successful, and emotionally integrated spiritual writer. Looking at the temptations that haunt us all, let’s continue to examine how Jesus dealt with temptation.

The second temptation of Christ in the desert is:

Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will give His angels charge concerning you,’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” – (Matthew 4:5-6)

Temptations and the devil have not changed over the years. In the first temptation Satan questions Jesus about who he is. He tried to undermine his faith in who God the Father tells him he is and what his mission in life is to be. When that fails, Satan reverses himself. He goes from doubt to presumption. He is challenging Jesus to prove that he has favor with God. He dares him to go against the laws of nature and presume that God will save him from his wrong decision.

What does this mean to us as Spiritual Writers? In the first temptation we learn that we must trust God when he tells us who we are. We are writers. We don’t need the approval, fame or rewards of the world to prove who God made us to be. In this, the second temptation, we are taught two lessons. The first is that we cannot presume that because we ‘write for God’ that we have the right to be obnoxious and cut-throat when it comes to marketing our work. I have been shocked and dismayed to find that Christian writers have been less than gracious to publishers and agents who turn them away. I have even met Christian writers who tell editors that they ‘are apparently not Christians’ since they are turning away God’s Work. This is presumption of the worst kind. To me it proves that the writer is not operating in God’s Will.

The second lesson we are told is not to presume that we can go against logic and the rules of this world and expect God to come swooping in to save us. In other words, if we want to sell our work and reach an audience we have to do the human legwork that is required of all earthly writers. You may think that everyone understands this but  I must tell you it is not always obvious, especially to the faithful. Here is an example of the other extreme. I know a woman who has one of the most fascinating novels I ever read sitting on a shelf in her closet. When I encouraged her to send it to a publisher, she told me that if God wants it published, He will send a publisher to her. I think she believes that a publisher will someday knock on her door and announce that God sent him.

It reminds me of the old joke about a man sitting on the roof of his house with a raging flood around him. First, a boat stops and offers to take him to safety and he refuses. Next a helicopter offers to lift him to safety and he turns them away. Finally the flood water rises and he drowns. When he gets to heaven, the man questions God asking why he didn’t save him. God answers, “What do you mean; I sent a boat and a helicopter.” The second temptation reinforces that we have to do what it takes to succeed and get the message out there, without compromising our Christian beliefs.

In the second test of the desert, Jesus teaches us not to presume on the favor of God. We are to work towards our goals and our goal should be to reach as many people as we can with the healing grace of Jesus. We are to work toward publication. We should market as much as we can. We should hone our story-telling skills with ongoing education. However, because we are doing the Will of Jesus in our writing life, we do not have to burden ourselves with what the world considers success. In a wonderful way, it lifts the burden and struggle to ‘make it.’ His burden is easy, and his yoke is light.

Let’s look at the third and final temptation: Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things will I give you if you fall down and worship me.” ( Matthew 4:8-9)

Finally, beyond doubt and presumption, Satan offers Jesus the world. All he has to do is worship the ruler of the world. Isn’t that what the world says to us? Couldn’t we have the world by a string if only we wrote what the world wanted to hear? I have seen the talent and gift of our writers. I have no doubt that they would be worldly successes if they wrote about steamy affairs instead of Christian marriage. They would be on the best seller list if they wrote graphically violent novels instead of pro-life tales. They could be touting six figure incomes if they glorified greed, self-indulgence and relativism. I have faced this temptation myself. I was offered a lucrative contract for my third novel, Down Right Good. It was so tempting. All I had to do was take any reference to ‘Mary’ out of the book. I couldn’t do it. I’ll lay my treasures in heaven. So when you work the first step, remember what Jesus said to temptation.

 “Begone, Satan! For it is written. ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” (Matthew 4:10)

God does not leave us alone in our struggles. “Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him (Matthew 4:11) He will send his angels to guide and comfort us as we use our gift according to His Will. Next time, we will discuss further how to follow step one of becoming a Spiritual Writer.

Karen Kelly Boyce lives on a farm in N.J. with her retired husband. She is a mother and grandmother. She is the author of “The Sisters of the Last Straw” series published by Tan Books. You can see her work and learn more about her on her website: www,kkboyce.com