The Chief End of Man

I first read Desiring God in high school, mostly because it was endorsed by Mac Powell, of Third Day (my favorite band at the time), and because it was on the shelf at a home where I happened to be babysitting. It changed the way I thought about many things, and was radical and hard to wrap my mind around. I hadn’t realized how much it had changed my thinking until I re-read it this past week. Things that were difficult for me to grasp, accept or imagine have become part of how I see the world, the idea of seeking my joy in God and coming to a right view of His blessings has been imprinted onto my heart. I’m certainly not perfect at it, but words I read nearly a decade ago have continued to inform my walk with God today.

I have also done a lot of other reading in the interim. I have taken classes on philosophy, gone to many different churches and been a part of many church traditions. I have found that there are no works of theology with which I completely agree and there are few that I fully comprehend. However, at its heart, this book speaks what I believe to be a profound truth: delight is okay.

As a person who often experiences delight (and other strong emotion) I needed to hear this. For years, I’ve been reading about the importance of staying even-keeled and taking life as it comes. There is truth to this as well, but for me, part of taking life as it comes is to recognize the great blessings, the times, people and experiences that come along just as I need them, and see them for what they are: gifts of God handpicked for me.

As I delve further into God’s word (chapter 5) and prayer (chapter 6) as I think about how to spend my money (chapter 7) and think about how to love people and God the way I need to (chapters 4,8) I am struck by the encouragement of this book.

Read it. You won’t love every word (well, you might) but I think that you will find something to take away and to make a part of your perspective. May it bring you joy.

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I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.