A Book Review: My Heart Has Enemies?

A Book Review: Enemies of the Heart- Andy Stanley

Every now and then I come across a book that I believe will change my life in some aspect. Occasionally, my suspicion will be right and the book will meet my expectation, and we’re set- my life is, in one form or another, better from reading the book. Of course, those occasions are rare. In his book, “Enemies of the Heart”, Andy Stanley accomplished challenging my life in this way.

Stanley peaked my interest from chapter one where he talks about problematic conditions of the heart. There are four: Guilt, Anger, Greed, and Jealousy. The four conditions are deep in the heart, but they surface in our behavior. Andy refers to the “debt-to-debtor dynamic” that influences each of the four conditions (48). Each one has a “debt-to-debtor dynamic”. Guilt says, “I owe you” (51). Anger is “You owe me” (55). Greed’s dynamic is “I owe me” (69). Jealousy says, “God owes me” (77). Throughout the chapters, Stanley explains each condition in detail. As you read, you begin to see yourself in certain conditions. The last section of the book has information on how to practice the things you learn in the book. For readers who want to use the book for Bible Studies, Stanley also added a Study Guide at the back of the book.

As I mentioned, this was a challenging and life changing book for me. I was able to look at my behavior and match it with its counterpart condition. By reading, “Enemies of the Heart”, I was challenged to pray about my heart health and make changes for the health of my relationships. I would recommend this book to anyone. Everyone struggles with at least one of the four conditions Stanley writes about. It would be a shame for someone to continue to pay the high price of any one of the four, when this book is available.

*I was given a free copy of Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.