I've been thinking. You are pretty special. You. Yeah, you! You have stopped in here to read my blog and I am privileged to have you. Privileged. I liken you to a person who comes to my house and asks for a cup of water.
I remember when I only got two people a day dropping in. Those two people still read me faithfully. So do a bunch of others, now. I see some blogs and the stats they have on their site-meters attest to humongous audiences--at least their site is being visited. I wonder though, how long does a person stay at their table; exactly what is their readership seeking?
Why do most folks write blogs? Some blogs are written to inform. Others to discuss a particular doctrine, theology, or interpretation of Scripture. Some blogs are written to share a whimsical thought, a personal revelation, or words of inspiration--a silly photo. Some blogs promote ideas, ideology, or political positions. Some live to entice, to woo, to incite, to persuade. Some seek the most controversial topics in hopes of increasing readership. Others use another blog to reel in readership to their own blog---a kind of self-marketing tool.
Yesterday I was contacted by someone who wanted to post an advertisement to my blog with the hopes of drawing from my readership. They wanted to pay me to use my blog to promote their website. I visited the site they wanted to promote and said, "Not in my lifetime."
Some things are not worth getting paid to do.
I thought about various ways to make money via my blog. Advertising other sites is one way to do it. Unfortunately, there are very few sites one can link-up with that don't have something unseemly attached to them.
Some things cannot be compromised; integrity is one of those things.
As more and more readership comes my way, I find myself getting even more conscious of what I am writing. I don't like controversy. I don't like to write on topics that breed anger, tempt folks to argue, or point out the faults of anyone in particular. Occasionally I am tempted to fire off a post to vent. Then I think: what good will this accomplish? When folks read my words, what do I want them to get from it? Certainly not an agitated spirit.
Nor do I want them to be disheartened or discouraged. While I cannot claim a reputation for substance, I do not want to own a reputation for judgemental attitudes or bigotted opinion. I don't want you to read this and feel you've wasted the precious time God has bestowed upon you in this lifetime. That's me.
As I go about life, I wonder if we'd all dig deeper in God's blessed Scriptures, if we'd come up having Living Water for the thirsty souls who come to drink at our wells? What do we seek to pour into their glasses? Purity or oinos? I pray my thoughts get more distilled as each day goes by. Let me know if the water has a funny taste, will you? selahV
[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]
