SEEDS: God Wouldn't Lead Anyone To Infidelity

Recently my book SEEDS received several reviews from some ladies who I feel have completely missed the point of the book. The general theme of their very short feedback was this:

"God wouldn't lead anyone to infidelity as an answer."

*SIGH*

Okay, let me try to respond to this the most simple way possible.

SEEDS is about sexual sin and it's ramifications.
Infidelity is a sexual sin.
God does not condone infidelity or ANY sexual sin.
The book does not condone infidelity.
In the book, God speaks to 4 characters directly, telling them their wrong and the way to freedom.
In the book, 3 of the character's do not listen and choose to do their own thing.
The infidelity in the book is a result of the character's doing their own thing and not listening to God.
Therefore, God did not lead the character's to infidelity as an answer to anything.
The infidelity is a sexual sin, one with consequences.

Okay with all that said, I will say what I said to my Sunday school class of 2nd and 3rd graders this past weekend as we studied the parable of the Seed and the Sower (which is the parable SEEDS is loosely based on), God drops the seed... sometimes it gets stolen, sometimes it doesn't root quite right, sometimes we reject it, and sometimes we get it right... but most importantly, God is a loving God who never gives up on us. He has more than enough seeds to continue dropping into our soil for as long as it takes for us to get it. God gives second, third, fourth, fifteenth... how ever many chances it takes. Just keep trying.

We all sin. Some of us sin sexually through premarital sex, pornography, and yes... even infidelity... no, God does not lead any of us to those sins and say, "Hey, you should do THIS," but let's face it - they happen because we are sinners. What my book was SUPPOSED to say is this...

God loves us despite our sexual sin and it's never too late to get on board with His will. Sometimes, it's too late to fix things with a spouse or loved one... but it's never too late to fix things with God.

As Christians, we are called to love the sinner and hate the sin. I hate to tell you this, but if you decided to despise all of the people who have committed adultery... you'd probably be a very lonely person. Instead of looking down at them for their confusion over their need to be loved, why not do what God does and love them despite it. Loving them doesn't mean you condone their behavior. I know it's hard... but none of us are walking on water.

UPDATE: It turns out the reviews I wrote this blog in response to were not actually real reviews of people who read my book Seeds. Instead, they were a personal attack on me for a personal reason. I am aware of who did it and why. Six months ago I made an apology to this person and gave them an explanation for my strange behavior. Those of you who know me know I suffer with some mental illnesses and sometimes I behave strangely - or even do things I don't remember fully. I shared this about myself and expressed my sincere apologies but obviously, my apology was not accepted. All I can say is, I really am sorry. I am flawed. I don't claim to be anything but flawed. It is times like this I am baffled by the love the Lord has for me... me... a messed up sinner who screws up... yet, He does love me. I am so very thankful for that love. A love I do not deserve yet can always count on. I'm glad I have a God who knows my heart, knows my truth, forgives without a second thought and won't write a mean review of me even when I deserve it.

SEEDS: I Hate Your Characters

I got a message from a reader that said this:

"I hate Cory. I hate Blaine. I hate Joni. I hate Holden. I hated all of them. Hate them and you have lost a reader."

I found this funny for a two reason:

First of all, there are four stories and seven main characters. All of the stories are about the reality of sexual sin. Sin is ugly so, yeah... if you clearly know the line between right and wrong... you weren't SUPPOSED to LIKE what they were doing. Most of the characters were behaving really badly but I wrote it for a purpose... to show the ramifications, not to glorify it. So to that comment I say, "Bravo... you have a decent moral compass. Congrats!"

Secondly and MOST IMPORTANTLY, the main moral of the story, the one I really wanted the reader to catch was this: As Christians it is our job to HATE the sin yet LOVE the sinner. Yep, it's hard... but that is what we are called to do as Christians. Choosing to HATE a particular sin to the point that you HATE the sinner is not bringing glory to God, at all. Christians (who are ALL sinners) who do this make other people (who are ALL sinners) not want to embrace Christ. Think about it!

This reader obviously missed the point entirely since she felt so much hatred for fictional character (not even real people) that she HAD to message me to let me know how displeased she was.

*SIGH*

I tried.

SEEDS: Christians Don't Have Affairs

Here is a conversation I had with a Christian in response to my book Seeds.

Person: "You shouldn't classify your book Seeds as Christian fiction because it is obvious you wrote it for the secular world."

Me: "Why do you think that?"

Person: "Well, the book has an affair in it..."

Me: "Yes, it does."

Person: "The only people who have affairs are secular people. Christians don't have affairs."

Me:  ***Can't respond, overcome with loud laughter and a few unintentional snorts***

Okay people... this is insane! Christians don't have affairs... are you KIDDING me? Of course Christians have affairs... Christians do all sorts of things they aren't supposed to do! Does that make it right? NO! Does it make it okay? NO! It makes us imperfect... it makes us need forgiveness but guess what: God is a forgiving, loving God.

While Seeds does have an affair in it, it does not glorify this behavior. It shows it as the sin it is. I included an affair in the book because the book is ABOUT sexual sin. If it happens in the real world... expect me to write about it.

That is all.

SEEDS: How Dare You!!

Today I received a message on my Facebook author page from a person who called themself a "Good Christian". This was in response to my book Seeds.

"How dare you write a book with a homosexual character and call it Christian Fiction. Stay in secular where you belong, no real Christians want to read your work!" 

Thank you for sharing your intolerance with me... if you are a "Good Christian" then I long to be an EXCELLENT Christian. All kidding aside, Jesus gave us a new command... John 13:34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

I choose to live my life as best I can under the new command!

Blessings...
Wendy