Missions Resources - Bibliography
Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot
Authors: Max Lucado
ISBN: 978-0849900082
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Number of pages: 240
Type of cover: Hard Cover
Summary:
Imagine going to sleep tonight excited about getting up for work the next day. Sound too good to be true? Max Lucado doesn’t think so. In Cure for the Common Life, Lucado leads readers through a step-by-step guide in piecing together dormant talents, hidden skills and undiscovered passions to finding that perfect, fulfilling nitch.
The book is divided into three parts on how to use uniqueness, glorify God with it, and live out every day accordingly. Each of these sections guides readers in finding their “sweet spots” in life. Readers are told we have each been packed with a “bag” of gifts that have not been inherited, learned or gained, but that are specific to each of us. Lucado defies the Western “be anything you want to be” message in light of the ultimate pursuit: fulfillment.
While there is an entire section dedicated to relating “sweet spots” back to God, the divine part of fulfillment can be found in every chapter. Lucado argues that how a person relates to God will color every other part of life. “Dread him and hate your work,” he writes. “Trust him and love it.”
Biblical stories are used throughout for illustrations, including the fitting parable of the servants and talents found in Matthew 25. The author breaks down the parable figures into present-day monetary value and tells his readers to consider themselves God’s million-dollar investments. With this message comes the reminder of the calling to simply be good and faithful (not famous or fruitful), and that intimidation is a poor response. “For fear of doing the wrong thing for God, you’ll do nothing for God.”
Lucado warns against the destructors of “sweet spots,” one of which is the American “obsession with stuff.” “For the love of more, we might lose our purpose,” he writes. Instead, Lucado suggests following the acronym S.T.O.R.Y. to focus on Strengths, preferred Topics, Optimal conditions, Relationships and joyous affirmation (Yes!)—all of which help a person to identify their passions and gifts. The final quarter of the book is reserved for a “sweet spot discovery guide,” with fill-in charts and questionnaires that will help readers to take the first steps toward unveiling their true life passions.
Strategic and practical, Cure for the Common Life is a healthy self-esteem booster. It teaches sweet spot seekers to work hard toward fulfillment and fight feelings of insignificance. Yet in all the focus on exercising gifts, Lucado neglects to caution against using strengths as an excuse for running from weaknesses. Some of the language is also exclusive. Though the author gets carried away in his figurative and “Christianese” terms, he otherwise writes to a wide audience of various ages, and carefully includes a chapter for parents to guide children toward their sweet spots.
Contrary to the title, Max Lucado’s book is not itself a magic potion. Instead, Cure for the Common Life holds the wisdom to nudge us toward a fulfilling life, which is granted only “to the degree we surrender our common one.”
by Shannon Whiting
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