I listened to the audio version of Wrecked: When a Broken World Slams into your Comfortable Life by Jeff Goins, and I have to say that this was a hard book for me to review because I expected to be confronted with the gospel calling me to do the hard things that sometimes I dismiss because of my comfortable life. Instead, I found a good book that motivates the reader to help others, to go out and do the hard things for others that can only be done when we come out from our comfort zone but without pointing to the gospel (even though some verses are quoted and some missionary stories are told).

Jeff Goins, is a very good author and I appreciate that he is the one that recorded the audio version. His style is engaging and his passion to make us come out from our comfort zone to help others with compassion is clearly there. However, he says over and over again (in many different ways) that “we can find the satisfaction we have been searching for…”  by living a generous life. He says that it is “generosity that gives our life meaning.” The problem with this line of thought through this book, is that the author leads the reader into living a life that finds meaning, satisfaction, and fulfillment not in Jesus, not in the gospel, but in doing this and that for others. And please, don’t think that I am denying works (I firmly believe that faith without works is vain), I am just saying that I disagree with the author in that our meaning in life, our satisfaction, our fulfillment should come from how much we help others or not. We will always be short of “good works.”

If you are like me, drawn to this book by its title, and know that you have to move out from your comfort zone without ignoring the fact that sin is the cause of the needs in this world as well as of the lack of help we offer to those in need, then I would, sadly to say, not recommend you this book. I recommend you instead Aaron Armstrong’s book, Awaiting a Savior: A Christian Response to Poverty. If you just want to “help others to find yourself” (a phrase the author uses), to find meaning and fulfillment in your life, then this book is for you.

Becky

Disclosure: I received an copy of this audio book from Cross Focused Reviews in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.