A Bit of a Book Review

I've been working on a book review for When People are Big and God is Small by Edward T. Welch. It isn't quite done (it's in the final editing stage). Still, since I don't have much else to say, I'm going to share parts of it with you.

          The book is split into two parts: how and why we fear others and how to overcome this fear. In the first section, Welch looks at our fears: that others will see us, reject us, and hurt us physically. He also writes about how the world wants us to fear others. He discusses the reality of sin-shame and victim-shame (which, while not involving sin on the part of the victim, can intensify pre-existing sin-shame) and how they lead us to try hiding from the others. He shows how peer pressure and low self-esteem are actually ways that we show that we fear others more than we fear God.  He then looks at the influence of the world and how its elevation of emotions and view of spirituality (that everyone is spiritual and all spirituality is valid) can influence us in our decision making and attempts to fit in with the world. Welch finally looks at how the influence of the world shows up even in our churches and in much “Christian” counseling (which is really worldly psychology with some Scripture mixed in).
           In the second section Welch shows us how to overcome our fears by fearing the Lord instead. To do this, we need to spend time in Scripture as well as prayer, for ourselves and each other. He also discusses the difference between our felt needs and our real needs: we have biological needs (food, water, shelter) and spiritual needs (forgiveness, salvation), but our psychological needs tend to be desires; it is this blurring between needs and desires that leads to many of our problems. He acknowledges that we do need others as we are not all given the same gifts and abilities, but maintains that our goal should be to love others more and to need them less. Finally, he looks to the end of Ecclesiastes to sum up the solution to our problem of fearing man: fear God and keep His commandments.
           Despite the few concerns towards the end of the book, overall Welch has written a good, solid, biblical rebuttal to the cult of self-esteem so prevalent in our world today. In When People are Big and God is Small, Welch has given us the Scriptural basis for understanding how we often view ourselves and God, and the solution to our underlying problem of fearing men. The book can be used as an individual or group study, for counseling others or for dealing with our own issues. It is based very solidly on Scripture that is, for the most part, used well. Each chapter also has a “For further thought” section that allows the reader to apply the information to his own life, using specific (and often pointed) questions. This book is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to move beyond the fear of man to embrace a proper fear of God. It is recommended reading for all believers who want to need others less and love others more.

Since you don't have the whole review, I should mention my concerns briefly. I think Welch reads too much into a couple Scripture passages and confuses another. Still, his points are valid and he is not distorting or misusing the truth.