The Cleansing Power of Writing

For the past two hours I have been responding to comments/questions offered by men I deeply respect on the last two days blog posts.  They did not ask easy questions, they are not on an easy path, easy questions and easy solutions do not serve them well.

It is not easy to respond to questions well, at least not for me.  I find that I have to carefully think through what it is I really do believe, and can I substantiate it from the Word of God.  Further, I am really more interested in equipping than answering.  But the discipline of crafting a response is clarifying, cleansing, in the sense that it forces one to choose carefully what one says.

Prof used to say that if you cannot write it out so that it makes sense you really do not understand it.  In my experience he was right.  I have found significant holes in my thinking as I have tried to draft a response to a question.

That requires integrity.  To admit that there is a hole, acknowledge it, and then go to work to try to fill it.  It is tough work.  It demands humility, curiosity, openness, and work.  It is cleansing.

Most of the time I like it.