The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts (2nd Ed)

The world is full of good things.

The Christian life is a journey in holiness: from one degree of glory to the next. But for too long there has been an unstated belief that as Christians grow in holiness, the things of earth will, as the hymn says, grow strangely dim. But Dr. Joe Rigney sees it differently.

As the poet once said, The world is charged with the grandeur of God. The smile of a wife. Baseball in October. The Sawtooth Mountain Range. Toddlers’ laughing. Meatballs in spaghetti. A very good whiskey. What are Christians to make of these earthly pleasures?

In this book, Rigney offers relief to Christians wrongly burdened by anxious guilt that they might enjoy their stuff too much. There is another way besides Idolatry and Ingratitude. This book will instill a rich gratitude to the Father of Lights, the Giver of every good and perfect gift.

Featuring a foreword by John Piper.

From the Book

"False guilt kills true joy and ruins us for fruitful ministry. Impossible obligations lead to constant failure and incurable guilt, which only serve to breed greater sin. Read that again. Impossible obligation. Constant failure. Incurable guilt. Greater sin.

In fact, to feel guilty for something that God does not regard as a sin is itself a sin. We ought to repent of our rebellion against our creaturely limitations. To erect a false standard of holiness is legalism, and the fact that we’re failed Pharisees doesn’t mitigate the sin."~Joe Rigney