Into the Fire

There are several ways to alienate people, but one way is to tell them the truth. Of course, if we speak the truth in love as the Word of God instructs us, we will have less chance of alienating somebody, but still there is no guarantee the truth will prevail and cause the person or persons no offense or alienation. Another way to alienate people is to deliberately lie to them. Of course if they don’t know you’re lying to them, you’ve got them for awhile—until they learn the truth. And yet another way to alienate people is to make them mad. And making people angry can evolve in a multitude of ways including the previously mentioned ways to alienate them.

We think we always want to know the “truth” in a matter. However, in today’s society there are innumerable definitions of a supposed truth. As Christians, you and I do our best to abide by the one Truth in living out our lives. However, in the matter of the law of the land, what might be lawful in one state might not be lawful in another state, so by conducting yourself by the law of your home state in another state, your actions might be illegal and cause you to be fined or whatever the compensatory judgment might be.

So what gives with all this “alienation” talk? I realize I’ve alienated a few people at times with some of my posts and some of my comments on other blogs. Some of the reactions totally blindsided me—I never saw them coming. Other times I apologized if there was unintentional offense. Sometimes it can’t be helped—opinions being what they are, we’re all going to disagree over some things. Whether or not those opinions alienate us with whom we disagree probably depends on the level of offense taken or if it requires too much compromise on either side to core belief systems.

I think free enterprise and the capitalistic system generally work until greed and/or fraud interfere with legitimacy. So I also think that companies ought to be able to legally and reasonably operate their own businesses the way they think works best for them. The motives of each company will most likely speak to how they do business—whether or not treating their employees as valuable is important, how they desire to treat customers, whether their product is of high quality and inexpensive, medium grade and reasonably priced, or top of the line and pricey. Each business must decide for itself what its priorities are and how to exercise them.

Having said all that, I’m alienated from the business of royalty publishing. At first it was because I had no idea how it operated so that naiveté translated into wrong assumptions. After considerable effort to learn about the business, I became alienated because of what I wrote which were novels considered too long for their genre, especially from a new author. Then I became alienated because of the way I wrote, not lean and Hemingway-ish, more Dostoevsky-ish as far as lengths and character studies. Then I became alienated because of the process of seeking publication which seemed to be a clinical, impersonal, overworked, subjective operation unless you were able to directly meet the professionals at conferences. However, since most of what I wrote didn’t comply with their preferences, what was the point of pursuing an agent or an editor?

So. This self-imposed alienation is mutual in my case. I have been told by more than one professional in the industry that what it really takes to get published is perseverance over talent. Keep banging on the doors and making your intent visible and invincible. You will not be denied.

But, you see, I don’t want to play by their rules. And because of my core values as far as stories and writing go, I’m unable to compromise. Go ahead, I know you want to: call me a fool. And you’re probably right. Although most of you probably think deep down I’m not that good as a writer or else I wouldn’t be up against this “problem”. And perhaps you’re right there, too. I certainly will admit I’m not the best writer. But I did write some pretty good stories, and even in obscurity they have touched lives. So . . . for now: I’ll settle for that kind of alienation.

Father, thank you for loving me in spite of me. Thank you for allowing me to continue in your grace. Thank you for all the amazing things you do for me, things that I have no knowledge of and things that I treasure. You are generous beyond description. Thank you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.