Stanley writes that everything we say and do comes from the heart — that's every single thing, whether we want to believe it or not. It's easy to make excuses, but what we really need to be doing is monitoring our heart. Jesus may have moved into your heart, but you may still need to give him full access. Undetected issues of the heart will surface and affect your relationships with God and and with others. We must treat the root problem: our heart.
Stanley looks at four main issues of the heart. He says guilt is an issue of feeling that "I owe you" and requires confession and restitution for true peace, even after acknowledging God's forgiveness. Anger is an issue of "You owe me," but most debts cannot be paid, and Stanley writes that we must consider what we've really lost, choose to let it go and forgive the offender, and stick to that decision despite our fluctuating feelings. Greed is an issue of "I owe me," and jealousy is an issue of "God owes me." But God owes us nothing. He gave us what we really need: the cross.
Stanley goes into much more depth than the above summary. His book is not a self help book, but it forces the reader to examine his or her heart and consider the changes that need to be made. We say we can't exercise in our present condition, but we actually can't get out of our present condition without exercising. The discomfort is a part of the cure, and it takes a habit to break a habit.
I highly recommend this book.
**This book was given to me in exchange for my honest review of it.
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