In the famous “Sermon on the Mount” passage in the Bible’s Gospel of Matthew, Jesus presented a series of eight “beatitudes.” Each was a saying that turned conventional wisdom on its head, showing how in God’s eyes the oppressed are blessed and the despised are prized. No one can improve on those inspired beatitudes, of course. But what if we tried to capture their perspective and redirected them to apply specifically to the writer’s life? Such as:
Blessed are the writers, for to write is to create, and to create is to reflect the image of God.
Blessed are those who write in weakness and pain, for their honesty and vulnerability will enrich their writing.
Blessed are those who are humbled by success as well as failure. One is sun, the other rain; both are needed to grow.
Blessed are those who do not love their own words too dearly but hunger and thirst for helpful criticism and accept the work of an editor with wisdom and grace, for they will be valued.
Blessed are the writers who are readers, for whom books and stories and articles are their food and drink, for they will be filled, and out of the abundance of their hearts and minds they will write.
Blessed are those who delight in non-monetary rewards, for they will be richer than those who write only for money.
Blessed are those whose manuscripts are rejected, for (like saplings that withstand the storm) they will be strengthened by adversity.
Blessed are those who seek God’s glory more than their own, who are warmed by their names in print, but set aflame by a spiritual truth well expressed, for great is their reward in heaven.
Do you see yourself in any of the above? Would you delete or revise any? What “beatitudes” would you add to the list?
Making Decisions for Others
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Hi Bob — and everyone,
Love these beatitudes and the comments. I do relate to all (and laughed at most, and said amen to all).
Here are mine:
Blessed are the writers who are poor with words, for God has given us a Thesaurus… (and Bible, and other books)
Blessed are the writers who mourn over their grammatical errors, for the CMS will (not really) comfort them.
Blessed are the writers who humble themselves, for critiques will teach them patience..
Blessed are the writers who hunger and listen to their editors/agents for they shall see their errors and correct them
Blessed are the writers who recognize failure as one step closer to success, for failure is the ultimate teacher as the Holy Spirit directs.
Blessed are the merciful toward those who spurn them, for others will be satisfied.
Blessed are the writers whose intentions are pure, for their agents/editors will correct them anyway.
Blessed are the writers who have patience over the years, for they shall gain the understanding of the publishing world
Blessed are the writers who feed the spiritually hungry, for sharing the good news brings those who’ve stood afar or fallen shall be raised up.
AND a few for agents/editors:
*Blessed are the agents/editors for they shall strengthen the weak
*Blessed are the agents/editors who counsel the newbies, for they shall inherit lotsa praise
*Blessed are the agents/editors in the writer’s sorrow (of rejections) for they will help them improve
*Blessed are the agents/editors who have patience with the authors, for theirs is great in their heavenly reward
AND *Blessed be the agent/editor when they are persecuted (maligned) for they shall be called Senior Editor.
Claire, you are a class act. Love your voice and humor.
Im posting these on the bulletin board in my office. Thanks
Poignant. Love this. Thank you for creating this. Helpful!
Holly
What a great post and great comments. Oh how we as writers can identify with all of it. I love it
love this so much!! thanks, Bob!!
Lovely post! Here’s mine:
Blessed are the writers who encourage their friends and colleagues (as you have) to continue their literary journeys.
Beautiful! Thank you!
Like Jane, I’ll print and post this in my office. It’s brilliant!
Bob, your postings are always so beautifully expressed. I never fail to learn from you, and to be blessed by what you have written.
I absolutely loved this!
Thank you, Bob.
I am going to forward this to my critique group. They are a “blessed” bunch of writers and a deep blessing to me.