May Book of the Month
May's book of the month is The Wisdom Pyramid: Feeding Your Soul in a Post-Truth World by Brett McCracken.
I’m guessing you’re probably familiar with the iconic food pyramid, an illustration by the USDA that gives guidelines for recommended food amounts in the daily life of Americans. Follow those recommendations and you’ll likely live a healthier life. Don’t follow them? Best of luck on living longer!
Inspired by the food pyramid, author Brett McCracken wrote The Wisdom Pyramid, challenging readers to increase the intake of trustworthy sources such as the Bible and church (which make up the pyramid’s base) and decreasing our consumption of sources such as the internet and social media (which make up the top tier). Also included in the pyramid are nature, books, and beauty.
This valuable book is broken up into two parts: sources of our sickness and sources of our wisdom. Information gluttony (McCracken’s words), the novelty of nearly everything we see online being the latest info or breaking news, and the idea that we “needn’t be accountable to anything beyond ourselves” (think: “you do you” or “live your truth”) are killing us and our ability to filter truth, wisdom, and knowledge.
But there is hope as we seek the Lord and the Bible as the basis of wisdom and truth.
The book’s introduction, entitled “An Unwise Age,” had me hooked from the beginning: “Our world has more and more information, but less and less wisdom … there is more, but we are less. And we all feel it.”
I’ve been there.
Make dinner. Check Facebook between recipe steps. Dinner is ready but check Instagram before sitting down to eat. Finish eating but check email before the kitchen is clean. Fill the dishwasher but, oh wait. I just got a text from a friend that needs answered.”
Life can feel like a continues hamster wheel and it’s hard to jump off without falling on your face. And there is no indication that this speed of life is going to slow down.
If you feel any of this, I urge you to pick up this book. The reminders of where our source and hope lie as believers is so beautifully conveyed in the pages of this book’s vital messaging. We are reminded that “if we are to become wise, our information diet must begin with the Bible.” Not the internet. And certainly not social media. After all, McCracken says “If the voice of God in Scripture is the voice of eternal wisdom, then knowing Scripture is knowing wisdom. That’s why Scripture is the absolute foundation of any wisdom diet.”
McCracken also notes that theologian “John Owen rightly observed that one’s spiritual vitality is manifest in a healthy appetite for Scripture: ‘If you have no appetite for God’s word then your spiritual life is in a bad state.’”
Before we completely throw the internet and social media under the bus, it’s important to note that McCracken believes there is a time and place for such things. Hotel and restaurant reviews, celebratory personal news, the need to communicate prayer requests, maps to get from point A to point B, etc. We can learn a lot from resources on the internet, from the beauty surrounding us, the books we read, and the people we meet. But “We cannot be wise apart from God … He’s happy to give it to us if only we ask” (James 1:5).
This book will be one of my top reads for 2024, and I cannot recommend it enough. Pick up your copy at the church resource wall in the month to come!
You can pick up a copy of this book at our Resources area or buy one online. The Gospel Coalition is temporarily offering a free e-book of The Wisdom Pyramid. You can also learn more about April's book of the month here.
I’m guessing you’re probably familiar with the iconic food pyramid, an illustration by the USDA that gives guidelines for recommended food amounts in the daily life of Americans. Follow those recommendations and you’ll likely live a healthier life. Don’t follow them? Best of luck on living longer!
Inspired by the food pyramid, author Brett McCracken wrote The Wisdom Pyramid, challenging readers to increase the intake of trustworthy sources such as the Bible and church (which make up the pyramid’s base) and decreasing our consumption of sources such as the internet and social media (which make up the top tier). Also included in the pyramid are nature, books, and beauty.
This valuable book is broken up into two parts: sources of our sickness and sources of our wisdom. Information gluttony (McCracken’s words), the novelty of nearly everything we see online being the latest info or breaking news, and the idea that we “needn’t be accountable to anything beyond ourselves” (think: “you do you” or “live your truth”) are killing us and our ability to filter truth, wisdom, and knowledge.
But there is hope as we seek the Lord and the Bible as the basis of wisdom and truth.
The book’s introduction, entitled “An Unwise Age,” had me hooked from the beginning: “Our world has more and more information, but less and less wisdom … there is more, but we are less. And we all feel it.”
I’ve been there.
Make dinner. Check Facebook between recipe steps. Dinner is ready but check Instagram before sitting down to eat. Finish eating but check email before the kitchen is clean. Fill the dishwasher but, oh wait. I just got a text from a friend that needs answered.”
Life can feel like a continues hamster wheel and it’s hard to jump off without falling on your face. And there is no indication that this speed of life is going to slow down.
If you feel any of this, I urge you to pick up this book. The reminders of where our source and hope lie as believers is so beautifully conveyed in the pages of this book’s vital messaging. We are reminded that “if we are to become wise, our information diet must begin with the Bible.” Not the internet. And certainly not social media. After all, McCracken says “If the voice of God in Scripture is the voice of eternal wisdom, then knowing Scripture is knowing wisdom. That’s why Scripture is the absolute foundation of any wisdom diet.”
McCracken also notes that theologian “John Owen rightly observed that one’s spiritual vitality is manifest in a healthy appetite for Scripture: ‘If you have no appetite for God’s word then your spiritual life is in a bad state.’”
Before we completely throw the internet and social media under the bus, it’s important to note that McCracken believes there is a time and place for such things. Hotel and restaurant reviews, celebratory personal news, the need to communicate prayer requests, maps to get from point A to point B, etc. We can learn a lot from resources on the internet, from the beauty surrounding us, the books we read, and the people we meet. But “We cannot be wise apart from God … He’s happy to give it to us if only we ask” (James 1:5).
This book will be one of my top reads for 2024, and I cannot recommend it enough. Pick up your copy at the church resource wall in the month to come!
You can pick up a copy of this book at our Resources area or buy one online. The Gospel Coalition is temporarily offering a free e-book of The Wisdom Pyramid. You can also learn more about April's book of the month here.
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