Evaluating yourself-being mindful of who you are and what you are doing-is necessary and can lead to positive change.
But what about the dark side of introspection? Do you ever feel weighed down and exhausted by your own self-analysis? Perhaps you made a mistake, said a careless word, or even messed up big time. Your self-examination spirals into a full-blown cross-examination. You keep revisiting what happened. Your mind circles around the event, fruitlessly trying to somehow make the outcome different so you don't feel the embarrassment, shame, and regret.
The modern self-esteem movement has left us empty and self-focused. We exhaust our healthy introspection and pervert it into constant self-evaluation, wrong views of ourselves, self-accusation, and false guilt. Introspection was never meant to bear such weight.
Think Again offers real relief from the burden of introspection that so many of us carry each day. Pastor Jared Mellinger, who tends to overdose on self-analysis himself, shows us how the hope of the gospel can rescue us from the bad fruit of unsound introspection. Mellinger's short, story-filled chapters help readers identify and turn away from unhealthy introspection.
There is an outward-focused God who delights to rescue an inward-focused people and lead them into a better way to live. When we truly understand it, we'll see that the gospel actually sets us free from thinking about ourselves too much. We can seek after and pray for the peace and joy-the sanity-that comes from thinking about ourselves less often.
Think Again includes practical instructions for self-examination, fighting false guilt, breaking free from hyper-introspection, and more. Ultimately, Think Again demonstrates that the solution to thinking too much about ourselves is to look to Christ, and it gives readers the tools to begin to turn from the mirror.
Jared Mellinger joined the Covenant Fellowship Church pastoral team in 2006, upon graduating from Pastors College of Sovereign Grace Churches. He became senior pastor in 2008. Jared graduated from Kutztown University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education. He enjoys reading, rollerblading, poetry, drinking coffee, building fires, and listening to Josh Garrels. Jared is the author of Think Again: Relief from the Burden of Introspection. He resides in Glen Mills, PA with his wife Meghan and their six children.
MY REVIEW:
This book felt like the author was inside my head at times! As an introvert, I do find myself spending way too much time being introspective. It can lead to self condemnation and over-thinking things to the point of exhaustion.
As Jared says, some introspection is good, however, we need to keep in the perspective of Christ. It's so easy to take a situation or something we said and go over and over it in our minds, each time berating ourselves a little more. Keeping Christ at the center of our thinking and seeing ourselves as Christ sees us, can help us have a more peaceful thinking process.
Jared shares some situations in his life where he was too introspective and shares Scriptures and other Christian teachings to help us change our thinking. He writes this book in an easy to read manner and throws some humor in and it makes it for a delightful read.
I loved the questions at the end of the chapters and this would make a great book for small group study. I found this book extremely helpful in not getting so caught up in thinking about myself but thinking about God first. It's been a book that has helped me not berate myself so much and to focus on who God says I am.
I really enjoyed this book and gained so much from it. I highly recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5 stars.
*This book was provided to me for my honest review by LitFuse Publicity Group
Blessings - Julie
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