Typically, we define work as something we “do.” Work can then be defined as the activity you do as a profession and for which you are paid. But if you are a writer, the latter half of that formula isn’t always a guaranteed proposition!
Thus, for the writer, we are left with a definition of work as being what you do. But that can be a dangerous thing because we tend to let what we do define who we are. I can speak to this firsthand.
Over 30 years ago, I lost my job. I won’t go into the gory details; suffice it to say it was a surprise and came without warning. Since I had some time on my hands, I thought I would take a night class on the Old Testament prophets at a local seminary. During the first session, the professor had us go around the room, say our names and what we did for a living. When it came my turn, I flushed with embarrassment and said, “My name is Steve Laube, and I am unencumbered by employment.” I felt so humiliated that I left the building during the first break and never returned.
Why did I react that way? Because I defined myself by my work. And since I no longer had “work,” I no longer had a purpose. A ridiculous reaction? Maybe. But it was very real at that moment.
I wrestled during those months of unemployment with my own sense of identity and purpose. Ironically, my work became the job of finding a job. Eventually, through God’s mercy, I received a phone call from Carol Johnson at Bethany House Publishers wanting to talk about me becoming an editor. And a new chapter began.
I learned some valuable lessons during those dry times. Some of them may apply to your situation.
1. I am not what I do. While it is so easy to fall into this trap, it is actually a sinkhole without a bottom. You are not a writer. I am not a literary agent. What we do is not our identity. I have to trust what God says in Philippians 3:20 and Colossians 1:13-14 and 1 Peter 2:9. If we believe in Christ, our identity is in Him.
2. Waiting is hard. Need I say more?
3. Success is impossible to define. We all struggle with this, but writers in particular. We drink up numbers and rankings and other authors’ successes like water in a parched desert. When our numbers are not what we had anticipated, we get depressed. Since writing is solitary and time-consuming, there is a desire to have some criteria by which we can judge whether the effort is “worth it.” But that definition is incredibly subjective. No two authors define success in the same way. I talked to a writer who was angry that their latest book did not sell the usual 50,000 copies, but only sold 40,000. Another author was mortified that their book sold only 1,200 copies over two years. Publishers can also define success differently. One may sell 5,000 copies and celebrate. Another publisher may sell 5,000 copies, and someone’s job is on the line.
Let’s return to number one on the list above and think about it for a moment: “You are not what you do.” Then, aren’t the other two solved by grasping the import of number one?
It is simplicity itself. Instead of searching for identity, success, and gratification, we already have everything we need.
Please don’t misread me. I’m not saying you can’t or shouldn’t identify what you “do.” I am a literary agent. This is a true statement and the answer I give when asked, “What do you do for a living?” Giving a theological answer would come across as pretentious.
Writing is something we get to do.
Writing is something we are called to do.
In that, there is purpose. In that, there is success.
However, I do not wrap up my Identity (with a capital “I”) in my job. That lesson was learned. My identity, as in who I am at the core, should not be defined by my occupation. How we act is a reflection of our inner self. “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). “Faith apart from works is useless” (James 2:20). And yet at the same time, 2 Corinthians 5:17 reads, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
[An earlier version of this post was published in 2014. It has been reworked and updated.]
