Enemies of the Heart

  I've heard a lot about Andy Stanley and the tremendous ministry he has but have never read a book of his until now.  Andy writes in an incredibly easy to read manner and tends to be a good mix of conversational and instructional in his approach.

  Enemies of the Heart was a good read, where Andy highlighted 4 major enemies to the heart of the believer: Guilt, Anger, Greed and Jealousy.  At first glance, these don't look as ruthless to the believer as they truly are.  Andy highlights the dangers each one of these enemies plays to the life and heart of the believer as well as how to battle through these.

  Andy breaks these enemies down like this:

Guilt: I Owe You
Anger: You Owe Me
Greed: I Owe Me
Jealousy: God Owes Me

  I had never previously seen these four enemies so easily explained, but he hits the nail on the head with each one. 

  Andy discusses how each one of these are enemies of the heart because they start and end in the heart.  Guilt robs the heart of confession.  Anger robs the heart of forgiveness.  Greed robs the heart from generosity and jealousy robs the heart of celebration.

  Andy states that in order to counteract guilt, one needs to confess; for anger one needs to forgive; for greed one must become generous and for jealousy one must celebrate when others succeed.

  Sounds simple, but as you will find out in the book, it's not as easy as it sounds.  This book will cause you to reflect deeply on your heart.  It will expose sins and issues you never expected to actually be there and will draw you closer to the Holy Spirit as you learn to yield to Him more than you have been.

  I really enjoyed this book and was able to read it fairly quickly.  I suggest if you are experiencing a heavy heart to read this book.  If you are struggling with generosity, celebrating others, confession or forgiveness...read this book; it will challenge you as well as help you through.