A painting by Rembrandt of Paul the Apostle
Have you read the letters written by Paul the Apostle? Have you noticed how many times he used the words „blogging” and „blogger.” Never! But, by God’s grace we still have a lot to learn from Paul the Apostle, also on the subject of blogging.
Paul was an expert at teaching us about life. He knew what was important and he focused on the importance of living with a purpose. So, how can you implement his teachings in your daily life as a blogger? It is truly easy!
Paul the Apostle on blogging
«I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.» (Phillippians 4:11)
This is a magnificent lesson to all bloggers. Are you content at all times? I am not! So, I guess Paul has something to teach me on this. In the world everything can turn around in a minute. A sudden report from a doctor, an algorhytm update from Google or a hurricane can make life look completely different within a few seconds.
Have you ever written a fantastic article that you looked so much forward to publish? But, the blog post did not get the results you had been expecting? It has happened to me hundreds of times. Do you have a website that you believe to be awesome, the only problem is that you are alone about thinking so?
Your mood and your happiness should not origin from these outer sources. Our well-being, our feeling of being content has God as its source. We need to learn that. And I do believe that from such a peace we can stand much stronger, both in failure and in success as bloggers online.
«He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.» (Phillipians 1:6)
This might be related to your blogging career, but not necessarily. I am not sure why you started blogging in the first place, but if God was the one inspiring you to do so, he will also help you finish what you have started. If God wants you to do something, he will also help you do it. He will give you the resources to accomplish what you started. Are you about to give up on a dream God has given you? Paul tells us that He who began a good work in us will carry it out. Let us trust Paul and God on this. Let us blog on with new confidence and strength!
«I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.» (Acts 20:24)
Recently I have been thinking a lot about how blogging is about creating a platform. With a strong platform made up of a popular blog, lots of Facebook fans and Twitter followers people will know my name and life will be eaiser. But, let us not forget that seen from a Christian perspective life is not about creating a platform around my name. Our goal is for God to become bigger and for us to become smaller. That is quite the opposite of the perspective normal bloggers have.
Now, how are we to influence to world as bloggers without readers, fans and followers? That is very hard. There is nothing wrong about creating a platform around your name and your website! But, we need to stay on track, making sure that our goal is to finish the race and complete the task given to us by the Lord Jesus!
«For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.» (1 Timothy 6:10)
Paul is writing this to his disciple Timothy. Just like money had power led people astray back then, it still does today! What does bloggers do for a living? They blog! How do bloggers earn money? By writing popular content, by reccomending popular products and by commercials. We all know that sin sells and as bloggers we will often be tempted to write about subjects we do not feel like. We get tempted to recommend products not worth recommending and to wrte content not giving any glory to God in any way. Let us be careful! It is better to earn less money than to go to bed with a bad conscience!
«Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.» (Galatians 6:9)
Have you been blogging for a long time without success? Are you giving out and sharing what is on your heart, but you do not feel like you see any results? Let us not grow weary in doing good, because at the right time we will harvest.
Have you ever placed carrot seeds in the ground? You place the seeds into the soil and for months you do not see anything. It is first at harvest time as you take the carrots out from the ground you will see the amazing results of the seeds sown.
You might not always see the growth and the harvest along the way. But, once you get to harvest day you will see the awesome work God has done through you!
One last input from David!
In Psalm 33 David sais: «Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.» I would like to finish this article emphasizing on the world skillfully. It is amazing to have good intentions, to walk in the will of God and to have a calling on our lives. But, to give God even more glory we need to develop our skills making sure that we do what God has called us to in the best possible way.
If you are called by God to work on the Internet and to be a blogger, make sure to develop your skills in all sorts of areas. It is not enough to write a blog post. You need to learn about writing, about publishing, about the usage of social media, about getting attention to your blog posts and so much more. Maybe we could write Psalm 33 and make it say:
«Write to him a new blog; do it skillfully, and shout for joy!»
What do you think? Have you learned anything from this article? Has it encouraged you? Please write whatever comments or questions you might have using the comment field beneath!
