All I Know...

So, I say I’m a writer. What does that mean?

Is it a bestowed or self-proclaimed distinction?

Do I need certification, credentials or a degree to be allowed to use the title writer?

It’s not really like calling myself a doctor or lawyer… those are more objective titles.

Just like art is more subjective as a field of study than science, the term writer is also subjective. It means different things.

You’ve got journalists, play-writes, script-writers, authors, bloggers, technical writers, essayists, speech writers, lyricists, poets, blurbers even… I actually knew a guy once who received an honorary doctorate from a university for writing letters. Yea, normal, dear so-and-so, snail-mail letters.

Still, after choosing a category, several sub-categories exist… journalism can include newspaper, magazines, journals, news media – from feature stories to obituaries, there’s a lot to write about as a journalist.

A similar story plays out under the umbrella of author – published/or not, fiction/non-fiction, genre, target audience.

I don’t know, but I get bogged down in all of this pigeon-holing. I think it’s because I don’t like to be defined by someone else’s matrix, especially if that matrix has anything to do with modern culture.

I’m not saying that definitions don’t exist. I’m all about absolutes.

Where do we get our absolutes, though?

For example, definitions of words in our culture have changed over the years, and words mean different things in different countries. But if definitions keep changing, how do we know what the real definition is? Who has the authority to change the meaning of words? It’s always amazed me how any two persons can communicate, let alone a world full of people.

This is my back door way of saying, no one person can possibly have the authority on everything.

I saw a billboard recently. It said…

“All I know is… everything. –God”

This made me smile for several reasons.

First, uh, yea, it’s so true. And there’s proof. Lifetimes of it.

Next, God is the only one ever Who can claim such a thing.

Also, it reminds me that no human knows everything.

And, it reminds me that I don’t know everything, and that I should keep that in mind when I am talking to someone else even if they’ve forgotten (or never knew) that they don’t know everything.

So when I’m looking for Absolutes, Truth, my Standard, I think I’ll go with the One Who knows everything. I don’t know. Just seems logical to me.

I don’t mean to sound glib or haughty. Honestly, it’s more like a lesson in humility. My point, though, is more along the lines that when it comes to defining myself, I’m going to check into what God says about me, who He says I am.

Because I have accepted that He is the One true God and that Jesus, God’s only Son, died as payment for my sins, God says I am His daughter, a princess, a co-heir with Christ. (Romans 8:16-17)

Wo.

Furthermore, I don’t have to worry about how other humans define me.

Let me tell you, that’s such a freeing little piece of information.

As far as calling myself a writer, I’m going to take Monday’s in December to share why I claim that title. Stay tuned for What I Write Highlights, excerpts from the fiction novels I’m writing.

Happy Monday and, as always, thanks for visiting Dry Ground.

(Photos provided by photobucket.com)