Ordering Your Private
World, Revised and Updated, by Gordon MacDonald
When I picked up this book, I thought it was a book about
time management. However, I quickly discovered it was book about the care of an
individual's soul. It is part warning against the driven, disorganized,
distracted busyness that pushes people to "burnout, breakdown, or
blowup" (pg. 10). MacDonald states, "A soul--our spiritual space-- is
empty when one tries to do soul-based things but makes little or no effort to
keep that soul filled" (pg. xviii).
It is also part instruction manual, as MacDonald explains
the resources we can use to keep our souls filled. The key is disciple, or more
accurately, the spiritual disciplines. He states, "If we are ever to
develop a spiritual life that gives contentment, it will be because we approach
spiritual living as a discipline, much as the athlete trains his or her body
for competition" (pg. 121). He lists five spiritual exercises: "the
pursuit of silence and solitude, singing, regularly listening to God; the
experience of reflection and meditation; and prayer as worship and
intercession" (pg. 128). He also deals with role of friends and periods of
rest in restoring balance to the inner world.
Much of the book resonated with me. I saw myself reflected
in his descriptions of the disorganized person. His discussion on journaling
was helpful (although I would have liked a more detailed how-to). I liked that
he included singing in his list of spiritual exercises. There is some helpful
insights to glean throughout this book.
However, there were a few things I didn't like. His
treatment of the spiritual exercises was uneven, and in some places, thin.
While I doubt it was his intention, it seemed like reading and studying the
Bible were merely options at the table and not the main course. In his effort
to avoid hard and fast rules, he missed the opportunity to guide a novice into
a deeper understanding.
Overall, Ordering Your
Private World was a helpful book. It helped me to recognize some errors in
my own spiritual development and encouraged me to approach spiritual
development with more disciple. Should you read it? If you are new to the
spiritual disciplines, I would recommend you start somewhere else like Don
Whitney's Spiritual Disciplines for the
Christian Life. If you are familiar with the spiritual disciplines, but
wonder why you should bother with them, then you would probably be helped by
this book.
Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book for free in
exchange for an honest review.
