Andy Stanley in When Work & Family Collide: Keeping Your Job from Cheating Your Family provides practical and theologically sound advice on balancing home and work life. Stanley notes despite the negative connotations to the word “cheating” that everyone does it. He reframes cheating as “choosing to give up one thing in hope of gaining something else of greater value (Stanley, 1)” The book provides examples of the negative impact on the family lives of many well meaning people who worked hard but neglect sharing their time with their families. Stanley examines the life of Daniel from the Old Testament to provide principles on making a stand for our families. He notes that Daniel took the stand to not cheat on his God under the pressures of those who worshiped another God. Daniel shows us a strategy to not cheat. Daniel addressed the issue directly, asked for but did not demand change, and offered alternatives. In the end Daniel was allowed to test his claim that he would benefit by not eating foods dedicated to false idols, a test that he decisively passed.
This is a reprint of Stanley’s Choosing to Cheat, a book that I have cited and used to help my decision making over the last few years even though I have never read it. Stanley presents to us a message that we all need to examine, balance. We all know that we can and do at times cheat our families and he does not shy away from this fact. Let’s be honest many of us have cheated our families in order to support the work of the church. Stanley shows us that we can balance our lives and that the benefit to us is better than any raise or work promotion. This is a book that I think every parent, husband, wife, minister, breathing person should consider in determining how to best make decisions for their futures.
Review Copy Provided by WaterBrook Multnomah
