Enjoying The Things of Earth

The Bible often mentions (and pastors often stress) the need to be in this world without being worldly. Obviously that danger exists, since we’re such sensory people, but most Christians have long learned to be wary of that pitfall – perhaps too much so!

The thing is: God created our senses. We hear, touch, smell, taste, and see a sensory-rich world around us, so God surely did not create such lavishness for us to ignore. Although temptations can come through our senses, our Creator does not tempt us! God is love. And, more than any earthly parent, our Heavenly Father wants to give us good gifts to receive with thanks and enjoyment.

As poets and writers, we draw on these senses each time we write or speak words into being. Nevertheless, I haven’t thought much about the need to enjoy – really enjoy – the things of the earth, except to note that one of my all-time favorite poems is “Love Calls Us to the Things of This World” by the Pulitzer prized poet Richard Wilbur. So when Crossway released the book The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts by Joe Rigney, I eagerly requested a review copy, which the publisher kindly sent.

If you have ever felt guilty for enjoying life and its gifts, read this book! If you think holiness cannot abide laughter, read this book. If you merely tolerate each day, read this book.

As Joe Rigney wisely says, “we can see that God is meticulous in his attention to detail” so that even “every ant has a genealogy. There are no rogue molecules. There are no random atoms. There are no wayward snowflakes. Everything has purpose. Everything has design. Everything has intent. We may not always know exactly what it is, but we can rest in the knowledge that God is working all things according to the counsel of his will, that his purposes are always for our good.”

Along those lines, this highly readable text develops a theology called “Christian hedonism,” which greatly differs from the no-no kind, especially if we see all of creation as “communication from the triune God.”

God the Father has given us a mind, body, and spirit akin to God’s own, so we rightly pull ourselves together as one person in three. As Professor Rigney says, “We don’t set God and his gifts in opposition to each other, as though they are rivals,” nor must we disintegrate in opposition to ourselves. “When we love God supremely and fully, we are able to integrate our joy in God and our joy in his gifts, receiving the gifts as shafts of his glory.”

And “So embrace your creatureliness. Don’t seek to be God. Instead, embrace the glorious limitations and boundaries that God has placed on you as a character in his story.” Then write your story or poem or article, and read this book!


©2015, Mary Harwell Sayler

The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts, paperback


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Step into the New Year: writing, revising, and marketing

Preliminary Steps:

Study classical and popular works in your favorite writing genre.

Consider what draws readers to a particular poem, story, article, or book.

Study magazines and other publications you like to read.

Get familiar with the book catalogues of publishers whose work you like.

Consider potential gaps that your story, poem, article, or book might fill.


Writing Plan:

Plan your fiction or nonfiction manuscript before you begin.

Decide on a theme, purpose, and reading audience.

Thoroughly research your topic or story setting.

Outline each article or nonfiction book.

Write a synopsis of your novel in present tense.

Both the synopsis and the outline should be from 1 to 5 pages.


Writing, Revising, and Marketing:

Let your writing flow without criticizing yourself, then let your work rest.

Later read those pages as if someone else had written them.

Read your work aloud and notice if anything seems “off.”

Pinpoint a problem, and you will usually find a solution.

Revise to make the manuscript your best before you send it to a publisher.

Find and follow writers’ guidelines located on the company's website.

Query several editors at once about an idea or book proposal, but when you submit your actual manuscript, send it to only one editor at a time.

When mailing your manuscript by postal service, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) to cover its potential return.

Keep track of where, when, and to whom you mailed each manuscript.

If you don’t hear back in 3 months, follow up with a brief, polite email.

While you wait to hear from one editor, query another editor about your next idea.

Repeat the above steps.


©2015, Mary Harwell Sayler 

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