Make 'Em Real

Know any
perfectionists? Hmmm, maybe I should phrase it this way: Know any
perfectionists who ever attain their goal by their own efforts? (Don’t you just
love rhetorical questions?)




The truth is
that in spite of our attempts to be good or reach perfection, it’s humanly
impossible. Even the nicest people have “issues.” Not one of us homo sapiens are (or ever will be, in
this earthly life) perfect. As famous playwright, Eugene O’Neill, once said:
“Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue.”




If none of
us are perfect, then why are we so timid about—or even afraid of—creating
less-than-perfect characters? Could it be that we’re fearful our personal sin
will come under the microscope? The reason we Christian writers write is to
show that our gracious God can redeem even the most broken among us. When we
shy away from creating “flawed” characters, we lessen the story and sell God
short—almost shouting out our lack of faith in His ability.




And if you still
can’t bring yourself to create a less-than-perfect character, think about it
this way: real characters with real problems keep readers turning pages.
Without the conflict and tension of imperfect people trying to make it through
the struggles of life, our stories are about as exciting to read as a phone
book.




King David
was called “a man after God’s own heart,” yet committed adultery and murder. If
you look at the life of Jesus, you see Him reaching out to imperfect people and
calling us to do the same. He hung out with sinners and tax collectors and
touched “unclean” people. He came to give good news to the poor, bind up broken
hearts, bring freedom to those in chains, and replace darkness with light
(Isaiah 61:1).




We’re
scribes of the Most High God and ambassadors for Christ. With our words we have
the power and privilege of bearing that good news, binding up those broken
hearts, releasing prisoners to freedom, and bringing light and healing to a
dark marred world. How can we attain that lofty goal if we pretend our
characters are perfect?






As
a former art teacher and musician, I’ve learned that white is made whiter in
contrast to black. Lush chords are all the more beautiful when juxtaposed with
dissonance. The same is true of our stories. Our character’s sin and flaws only
serve to reveal Light and bring it into sharper focus. Or as one of the
greatest Christian writers of all time phrased it: "…where sin increased, grace increased all the more..."
(Romans 5:20b)