My OperaThe Stories Not Written
Monday, January 23, 2012 10:34:17 PM
Do you have fantasies you would never tell to others?
If not, you are lying. The only people without fantasies are dead. The rest of us live with a mixture of conscious and unconscious fictional threads running through our minds. This world is really messed up, and if we don't ever wish for something we can't have, we are already dead. That's how the fallen human mind works. We've always wanted to go back to Eden.
That some of our fantasies are best kept to ourselves is itself not a secret. Whether they are actually sinful in themselves is probably asking the wrong question. Jesus warned we are broken, and desperately need a Savior. By His standard, not only have most men committed adultery in their hearts, but most of them have committed murder, and lots of fornication, even child molestation and incest. If my experience in counseling is any indication, women are at least as bad. Children are equally evil, for the most part, though perhaps not accountable for a few years. This is how we are wired.
As noted in previous posts, the point was not to make us feel guilty for letting our thoughts wander into sin. You would typically recognize the lusts of your flesh in your thoughts every day. The point is to keep us seeking His face for repentance. We live in the Land of Repentance; we never leave it behind until we move into Heaven. But fantasy is tightly wired into our creative processes. Just because your brain rolls out some embarrassing fantasy does not mean it's all wrong.
On my other blog I frequently publish fictional stories in series. The last one was called "The Technocracy of War" and involved computers and operating systems used by the US government. I'm already working on another story about a man helping someone shake off insanity, as he did himself. Do you imagine these stories just pop into my head? Each of them begins as a fantasy, and often I end up changing a lot of details when I write them. You don't need to know everything passing through my broken mind. You need something which will help to build your faith, or at least help you think a little more clearly about something.
All of my fiction teaches something. I have no other reason for writing. How it gets to my head is between the Lord and me. No people were harmed, and I have no trouble differentiating between fantasy and reality. At least, I don't think so. Some of my imaginary characters sin, and in my heart I surely do every day, whatever you want to call it. But when it comes time to put my fingers on the keyboard, the Blood of Jesus cleanses all things, and you get something useful.
I hope it's useful; It sure blesses me to write it.
If not, you are lying. The only people without fantasies are dead. The rest of us live with a mixture of conscious and unconscious fictional threads running through our minds. This world is really messed up, and if we don't ever wish for something we can't have, we are already dead. That's how the fallen human mind works. We've always wanted to go back to Eden.
That some of our fantasies are best kept to ourselves is itself not a secret. Whether they are actually sinful in themselves is probably asking the wrong question. Jesus warned we are broken, and desperately need a Savior. By His standard, not only have most men committed adultery in their hearts, but most of them have committed murder, and lots of fornication, even child molestation and incest. If my experience in counseling is any indication, women are at least as bad. Children are equally evil, for the most part, though perhaps not accountable for a few years. This is how we are wired.
As noted in previous posts, the point was not to make us feel guilty for letting our thoughts wander into sin. You would typically recognize the lusts of your flesh in your thoughts every day. The point is to keep us seeking His face for repentance. We live in the Land of Repentance; we never leave it behind until we move into Heaven. But fantasy is tightly wired into our creative processes. Just because your brain rolls out some embarrassing fantasy does not mean it's all wrong.
On my other blog I frequently publish fictional stories in series. The last one was called "The Technocracy of War" and involved computers and operating systems used by the US government. I'm already working on another story about a man helping someone shake off insanity, as he did himself. Do you imagine these stories just pop into my head? Each of them begins as a fantasy, and often I end up changing a lot of details when I write them. You don't need to know everything passing through my broken mind. You need something which will help to build your faith, or at least help you think a little more clearly about something.
All of my fiction teaches something. I have no other reason for writing. How it gets to my head is between the Lord and me. No people were harmed, and I have no trouble differentiating between fantasy and reality. At least, I don't think so. Some of my imaginary characters sin, and in my heart I surely do every day, whatever you want to call it. But when it comes time to put my fingers on the keyboard, the Blood of Jesus cleanses all things, and you get something useful.
I hope it's useful; It sure blesses me to write it.
