Sharing challenging concepts is in itself a challenge. A simple matter of theft, or a deception or a matter of fraud, while perhaps appearing complex from the outside usually comes down to something very simple.
The challenge for people wanting to get their story out is to simplify it sufficiently that the reader can grasp what it’s all about.
Continuing on in the Swapping Ignorance series, I collated some Short Stories that I had written as Christian allegories. The Christian message is essentially so simple that a child can understand it, but life throws incredible challenges our way and this messes with our minds.
That there is a Creator and that we must be accountable to Him, is self evident to a child. “What’s the problem with that?” a child will ask. “If we come from a mother and father who created us and it is them who set the rules by which we must live, then surely this is just the reality?”
But, then the concept of evolution gains credibility; the teaching of the church doesn’t measure up to the rhetoric so we lose faith in them; and we find that recognising that the challenges of life and death in a less than perfect world makes things a little complicated!
Speaking of one subject at a time in a story is a simple story-telling technique – one that is hugely effective when things are complex, and especially when deeper thought is required.
Because most people seek self-gratification in all they do, the application of someone else’s experiences into our own life is one of those challenges. Hence our workbook. One old man can tell the world till the cows come home how he became a success story; he can feel great about himself as much as he likes; but how would that all connect with a young woman struggling to deal with loneliness or violence or just feed her children?
TIP 34:
Be careful out there people! Always deal only with the truth; the whole truth and nothing but the truth! Be smart. Your friends can easily deceive you at the drop of a hat, especially in court and especially to save themselves.
Stories (and in this case Christian Allegories) can help bridge that gap so that the sharing and imparting of sound principles can transcend culture, gender, ages, time and life circumstances. When the Little Red Penguin wins against all odds against his predators for example, and when he realises how to use his uniqueness to counter evil, we can all connect with the moral of the story and apply that lesson in our own way. We think about & later remember the way that funny little odd fictitious red penguin converted his success into power and influence so that all those around him benefited.
When we watched the various villagers deal with the wall in a ludicrous manner – denying it, ignoring it, benefiting from it and suffering as a result of it, we note this & can be a little wiser when dealing with truth ourselves.
Leave a Reply