Warren organized his book into a 40-day journey divided among what he asserts are God’s 5 purposes for our lives according to his interpretation of the Bible:
- You were planned for God’s pleasure
- You were formed for God’s family
- You were created to become like Christ
- You were shaped for serving God
- You were made for a mission
Days 36-40 concern purpose 5: what it means to be made for a mission. I was hoping the last chapters would culminate in eye-opening inspiration, and perhaps for some people they do, but I found them wildly disappointing. These chapters are highly dogmatic with our “mission” being to proselytize for Christ. Specifically, Warren tells us we are to (1) share the Good News of eternal salvation through Jesus Christ (2) with others near and far (3) by telling others our own salvation story:
- What life was like before Jesus
- How you realized you needed Jesus
- How you committed your life to Jesus
- The difference Jesus has made in your life
That pretty much sums up days 36-38, with days 39 and 40 largely reiterating points made elsewhere in the book.
There are a handful of noteworthy observations in these chapters, but honestly, I’m done with this book. While I have found some truth in Warren’s words, the almost constant assault of self-serving rhetoric has been exhausting and burdensome to sift through and set aside. Everything about the book – from the organization into a 40-day journey, to the emphasis on eternity and pitying the unsaved, to the carefully selected Bible translations and paraphrases to support Warren’s personal opinions – is pedantic pandering to the subset of Christians who want to be handed a blueprint for salvation so they can judge each other for not following it. The only reason the book is 40 chapters is because 40 is a magic number in Christianity. If Christ had wrestled with the Devil for 36 days instead of 40, then this book would have 36 chapters. As it is, the division of chapters seemed arbitrary and unnecessary (as if Warren set out to fill 40 chapters rather than simply writing the book and numbering the chapters accordingly) and, even though it’s pitched as a 40-day journey, the book actually has 42 chapters. Then there’s the cherry-picking of Bible verses to back up his assertions – a fine example of unchecked confirmation bias – and the frequent self-contradiction. There’s loads of criticism out there regarding Warren’s questionable interpretation of Bible verse to support his points (here’s the Google search results, if you’re interested in seeing for yourself). The whole thing just has a very silver-tongued, snake-oil merchant feel to me.
Maybe Warren is right and the only way to truly live is to commit your life to the very dogmatic interpretation of the Bible he offers in this book, but I just can’t buy it today. Maybe someday, but not today. Maybe someday I’ll “realize I need Jesus,” get saved, and join up with the Christian soldiers onward in their mission to “get one more for Jesus.” But today, I’m really just disappointed by the tired dogma pitched as inspiration.
TL;DR: No tl;dr for virtual book club posts.
