Books

Wise: Make Great Decisions Every Day does a fine job of applying the wisdom of God’s Word to reality. In writing this book, Bob Merritt says:

I sifted through every verse contained in the book of Proverbs, isolated the dominant themes, and applied them to the top twelve decisions every person has to make in life.

Get Wise certainly contains nuggets of wisdom for living a moral life, and the proverbs Merritt selects match well with the themes. As a read, though, the book seemed at times a bit “surfacy”—with deeper issues often getting punted to the advice of a professional counselor. The stories usually recalled Merritt’s own mistakes or wise counsel to others, and after a while I felt as if the true audience of this volume was Pastor Merrit’s congregation—like the book reflected a sermon series repurposed for print. The leaders’ note in the back—as well as the discussion questions—seem to affirm that the book’s primary audience is Pastor Bob’s church. And that’s fine.