Andy Stanley’s “Enemies of the Heart” will be a useful book to many … if they make it through. Andy has an easy style in his speaking and writing. It certainly comes through in the book. The bits of humor and the personal stories keep the book from being unbearable. What I mean by that is this – dealing with issues of the heart can cause quite a bit of personal discomfort.
Andy identifies the four primary enemies of the heart: guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy. Everything else flows from these. He then proceeds to outlines why these are enemies and what the believer can do to defeat them.
Andy makes some great insights. Only occasionally did I pause to ask if the interpretation of a passage was dead on. More than once,however, I asked myself if I wanted to keep reading the book or put it aside and start something else. Dealing with guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy as theological concepts is one thing; dealing with them as familiar heart enemies is quite another.
This book is well worth the read, but if you don’t plan to move on to application then save your money. I have a sneaking suspicion that the preaching in Andy is eager to see the truth lived out and not just talked about.
The study guide in the back is a excellent. If you have a group that is willing to be vulnerable, then by all means use it. If you group doesn’t like to deal with real issues, find something else!
Be Transformed 