Book Review: Strange Days: Life in the Spirit in a Time of Upheaval by Mark Sayers

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how to live life in a way that glorifies God.  It's hard to live in this world and not be of this world.  We are trying to teach our children about the world , while helping them to not live in the ways of the world, to love, be kind, and respectful of other's differences.

With my praying for ISIS and for Muslims during Ramadan, this book seemed to follow along well with it, that's why I picked it.

This was a book I received from Moody Publishers as part of their Blogger review program.

INTRODUCTION

In the introduction he explains the number of issues we have today, what kind of issues they are and he ends with this: "This is a challenging number of issues, for sure. What is more, the nature of each issue is quite different. Some are political, social, cultural, religious, and even technological, and others are a combination of several. Add in the fact that these issues span the globe and concern cultures and people we don't understand, and the whole of it can be dizzying. However, if we begin to look deeper, underneath these conflicts and tensions, we see a spider web of borders and boundaries-clashes over place, identity, and meaning. As we will discover, there is a pattern behind this chaos." Page 17  

And then he lays out the plan for his book in 3 parts.

Part 1  Biblical Pattern of Chaos
Part 2  Historical Pattern of Chaos
Part 3  Life Re-Patterned in the Spirit

PARTS 1 & 2

The author shows a lot of what's going on in the world's issues from a point of view I hadn't really thought of before.  Somethings I already knew, like the entitlement mentality and tolerance issue we see today.  But, when he describes places and non-places and the emergence of technology , specifically smartphones and the withdrawal from society, it became clear of what our society has truly become, it hit home for me.  It made me re-evaluate the way I think about technology and if there is someway to reconcile ourselves and our children in the world we live in today.  

These aren't all things I didn't know already, but sometimes when they are written down in a different format they can shed light on something that has been right there on the surface all along.

As I read Parts 1 & 2, I longed to hear the good news of Part 3.  As if I wasn't bummed enough about the world, it was a bit depressing to read about it all over again. Interesting, but depressing.  I eagerly turned each page to get to Part 3.  

PART 3... FINALLY!

When I got there it was full of The Good News, the Gospel. He talks about transgressing boundaries.  Statements like "God satisfies, He is Enough", "You are more than your orientation, experience of gender, marital status or societal role.  You are a child of God".  

Basically, we ALL fall short of the glory of God and are in need of a savior, no matter who, what, when, how much and so forth.  It shows us where our true identity should be.

Then he moves on to talk about technology and the lost art of livedness.  Yeah, I had to look this word up because it seemed off to me.  What he really means is the state of being alive in the tactile world.  Going about our days in the real life (IRL).  Where the boundaries are normally transgressed unlike the digital world of chaos, emotional upheaval and taking sides.  Although we all know we still take sides, but isn't it a bit easier to discuss "your side" online than it is in person these days.  It's like we all create our own little walls.  

People are flesh, we were created for community, at first with God and then with each other.  As Christians, we are called to be part of the church.  

He talks about how livedness in the church can feel like a cold shower, or like your crawling compared to the digital age. Page 144-145 he writes something that hits home for me.  "For a hyperspeed culture of connectivity, the slow and steady pace of discipleship can seem glacial. The silences and pauses of the Christian life, the waiting and abiding, can seem deafening."  ... "The intensification of radical individualism created by our digital age, in which individuals fold into themselves as they bend over the screen of their smartphone, means that the life of discipleship, and the battle against flesh, is a battle against the self.  All who come to Christ must lay their lives down before Christ, regardless of the particularities of the epoch and culture they find themselves in. Our age is no different. But our phones train us not to do this."

My Thoughts... My brain hurts  😖

This author had a lot to say. I felt like I was reading Plato / Aristotle or some other philosopher. However, I pushed through it.  I really did get a lot out of the book.  It made me think, and think, and think... but it did help me see things in a different way.  I just wished it wasn't written so heady.  I think I might take a break from non-fiction for awhile.  I don't think my brain can handle it for awhile. It's good to push outside your comfort zone when you read, but it's also good to enjoy what you are reading and not have a headache and be full of frustration.

My advice...

Take it or leave it. It had some really good stuff in it and made me think a lot,  so I reviewed it as a 3/5.  I wish that this author would have written this book with smaller, more pointed words, so people like myself didn't struggle with texts like these. He did have a lot of good things to say, I just struggled to read through it.

What did I take away from it?

I was talking with my husband the other day about the fact that I have a hard time slowing down. Psalm 46:10 ~  "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."     I often wonder if that's due to our never ceasing culture and attachment to technology.  I know that when we are constantly entertainment it's hard to know what to do with ourselves when we stop.  If we aren't still how to we expect to hear from our Creator?  It's like my body can't stand it's own skin sometimes.  Like I only have 2 modes, ON/OFF-Go, go, go or lazy.

But also, as he describes below, how are we called to be a disciple?  To live in the spirit in these times?

Page 167-168  "By following the way of the disciple, we choose the narrow path that leads to life.  We cannot take our cues from what everyone else is doing. Life must be approached as a disciple. We must ask, "How do we approach social media as a disciple?" "How do I parent as a disciple?" "How do I date as a disciple?" "How do I use my money as a disciple?" This simple question, "How do I live as a disciple?", re-frames the whole of one's life, send on to the Scriptures to seek guidance, wisdom , and truth."

Here is a good short article in which our calling as Christians is described well.  Be in, but not of the world.

I hope to explore this more on my blog in the future, once I recover from reading this book.  Seriously, my brain hurts. 

Until next time.....


Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.