Book Review: Enemies of the Heart, by Andy Stanley

Have you ever said or done something, and then said or thought, "I didn't mean that," or "I don't know where that came from" ? Then, this book will hit you between the eyes with uncomfortable truth.

Read an excerpt here.

Andy Stanley does a great job of describing four common heart issues -- guilt, anger, greed and jealousy -- in a way that pierces the very area talked about (your heart). Just when you find yourself thinking of someone who fits the profile of the person he's describing, he turns the tables on you and tells you not to play the victim, because you've got issues too.

He addresses how we tend, as a society (secular and Christian), to work on behavior modification rather than dealing with the root--a heart problem.

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV).

The author discusses the four heart problems as "debts" that are owed, whether to others (guilt) or to ourselves (greed), or from others --you owe me (anger) or God owes me (jealousy).

Andy Stanley boils everything down to us not getting what we want, and our reaction to that. This is an intriguing read that will make you examine your motives and actions, and the discussion questions in the back of the book make this an excellent tool for a small group or home Bible study.

You can buy the book here.

Thanks to the publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review of this book. I wrote it this way because I liked it! :)