Book Review: Enemies of the Heart

Andy Stanley blows my mind with the most obvious stuff. Really, it’s not that he’s not wise or creative. He is. It’s just that the best things I’ve ever heard him say are so plain. 

His book Enemies of the Heart, based on a series he preached called “It Came from Within,” is yet another example of profound simplicity. 

In this book, Stanley suggests that most all of our bad behavior springs from one of four heart conditions (guilt, anger, greed or jealousy) and that while we may be tempted to modify our behavior, real transformation won’t occur until we root around in our hearts.

 At one point in the book Stanley asks if you’ve ever said something like ” I don’t know where that came from” in response to something inappropriate, mean, spiteful (etc.) you may have said. His response to this haunts me. He says, “You want to know where that came from? It came from your sick heart.” 

The first time I heard him say that was four years ago. I say it to myself now every time I catch myself inching into guilt, anger, jealousy or greed, and when you start thinking about it, almost every misstep we make grows out of one of those four conditions.

If you haven’t read the book, you should. Or listen to the sermon series (which you can probably buy on Northpoint Community Church’s website). This is truly transformative truth, the kind of stuff that messes with your status quo.