The Greener Grass Conspiracy – Finding Contentment on Your Side of the Fence by Stephen Altrogge.
Coming on the heels of a 3 month Bible study of Ecclesiastes, I thought that this book might be a good way to see how what I had learned from Ecclesiastes looked in today’s world. I was not disappointed. This book will reach everyone from educated theologians to the person that has just heard the Gospel for the first time today.
As I started reading The Greener Grass Conspiracy: Finding Contentment on Your Side of the Fence by Stephen Altrogge, I thought that the analogy of a conspiracy theory might be a little bit far fetched, but before I had even finished the foreword, I was convinced that Altrogge was certainly correct in his anaology. This book is not a “how to” book describing how to live a life full of contentment. It is, in the words of the author, “…more like sweaty, bloody, hastily scribbled notes from a battlefield.”
This book is written in a way that I believe that everyone will be able to identify with. You will laugh hysterically, you will be convicted of areas of discontent where you had no idea it was lurking, you will see yourself often in the stories that Altrogge tells. You will be made aware of the many gifts that God has given you, despite your current station in life. Most importantly, you will be taken to the cross and shown that we are not home on this earth and given a small glimpse into our true home. The home that was purchased for believers by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Altrogge uses a good mix of scriptures, writings of the Puritans, and his own knowledge of theology to express his views. He has a very unique way of blending humor and some very tough questions for the readers that kept me engaged with this book. On one page Altrogge tells the reader that “God gave up what was most precious to Him so that He could save sinners who hated Him.” Then, just four pages later tells a story of his teenage years when he wanted to go hunting with his friends. His parents would not allow him to go because they realized that the hunting scenario “…could have some potential problems, like me dying,…”
Perhaps the most enlightening thing for me in this book was the realization that complaining is a rather large sin and the rationale behind that belief. Altrogge writes that “When I complain, I am preaching to myself and everyone else that God is helpless.” He asks the reader “How often do we lift our heads from the buffet of God’s blessings only to voice a complaint?” A week after reading those pages on complaining, I am still digesting that revelation and realizing just how prominent the sin of complaining has been in my life.
This book is a great read. One that will make you stop and think, and probably change your life for the better. The only reason I don’t give this book five stars is that I didn’t feel like there were any huge new revelations for me. Had I not just finished a very deep three month study of Ecclesiastes, I wonder if the same would have held true. This is a great book that will change everyone who reads it in some way.
Disclosure: I received this book free of charge for the purpose of reviewing it.
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