I saw a quote yesterday on Jon Acuff's twitter feed that I have been thinking about ever since.

I have to be careful that I'm creating FROM love, not FOR love. One is from my heart. One is for applause. - Brad Montague

Wow. 

As a writer, actor, video producer, and speaker, this is a quote that caused me to sit back in my chair for a moment. Am I creating from love? Are the things I am creating intended to serve others, out of love, or are they designed to draw more eyes towards me?

I may frame this quote and hang it on the wall of my office. 

I want to say that everything I create and share comes from a place of total security, and is a manifestation of my deep desire to share the love of God with others. That is why I have spent eighteen+ years working in ministry. That is the goal. That is true. But, it is also true that I deeply desire to be seen and loved for the work I do as well. 

This COVID-19 outbreak has had me thinking about those two conflicting desires a lot. 

It seems like overnight countless virtual conferences, youth groups, webinars, and hangouts have popped up. My email box and social media feeds are flooded with notifications about upcoming talks and global events. It has been an incredible thing to see the Church mobilize in this way. And in many ways, I am in awe of it all. 

But I keep thinking of another quote, this one from former Obama White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, 

You never let a good crisis go to waste.

I keep hearing that quote in my mind, like a warning siren.

As creatives in ministry, we need to be careful at this moment. We need to consider our motives and desires carefully. Are we truly seeking to serve a Church in crisis, or are we serving ourselves in the name of Christ? 

As I write this, I realize that there will be some who feel I am making a judgment on the work they are doing. I am not. I am not qualified to do so. And Like I said, for the most part, it has been incredible to witness everything that is happening. 

But, I would be remiss if I didn't say that I see a trap before myself in this. And it would be unforgivable if a saw that danger and didn't say anything to warn anyone else. 

So, here it is. Here are the questions I think we all need to be asking. Am I creating out of love, or am I seeking to make the most out of a crisis? Am I expanding the Kingdom, or am I growing my platform? 

These are questions I am asking myself that I can't answer for anyone else. And maybe this blog is just for me, or maybe it's for you too. 

Christ's Peace, 

Chris

ps. I just sent this blog to my friend Francis Cabildo for review, and he sent me back this excerpt from the Imitation of Christ. I'll leave it here for your consideration too. 

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Works Done in Charity (The Imitation of Christ)

Never do evil for anything in the world, or for the love of any man. For one who is in need, however, a good work may at times be purposely left undone or changed for a better one. This is not the omission of a good deed but rather its improvement.

Without charity external work is of no value, but anything done in charity, be it ever so small and trivial, is entirely fruitful inasmuch as God weighs the love with which a man acts rather than the deed itself.

He does much who loves much. He does much who does a thing well. He does well who serves the common good rather than his own interests.

Now, that which seems to be charity is oftentimes really sensuality, for man's own inclination, his own will, his hope of reward, and his self-interest, are motives seldom absent. On the contrary, he who has true and perfect charity seeks self in nothing, but searches all things for the glory of God. Moreover, he envies no man, because he desires no personal pleasure nor does he wish to rejoice in himself; rather he desires the greater glory of God above all things. He ascribes to man nothing that is good but attributes it wholly to God from Whom all things proceed as from a fountain, and in Whom all the blessed shall rest as their last end and fruition.

If man had but a spark of true charity he would surely sense that all the things of earth are full of vanity!