Real Love in an Angry World: How to Stick to Your Convictions without Alienating People is about being a true Christ-follower and showing God’s love to a world that is full of conflict, hostility, and suspicion about Christianity (and a lot of other things). Looking to Jesus’ example, Pastor Rick Bezet discusses different specific ways Christians can relate to people in love, without judging them, while also not compromising their beliefs or condoning unbiblical behavior.
Basically, this book is about the biblical principle of “speaking truth IN LOVE.” First, it establishes that there is a universal truth, one that isn’t damaged or injured by people’s dismissing or disbelieving it. However, this truth is not a stark, judging, hateful truth. Because it cannot be hurt, it doesn’t need to go on the offensive to protect itself.
Bezet discusses a variety of issues outside, but mostly inside, the modern-day church, referencing the early church as a point of comparison. To reconcile “truth” with “love,” it’s necessary not only to embrace some of the characteristics of Christianity but all of them. “Discernment,” for example: when an imperfect person (AKA anyone) tries to put that into practice alone, it can easily devolve into judgementalism and exclusive behavior. It is only when that discernment is balanced by compassion and putting others first that it becomes true wisdom.
Now, on a completely different note from “true wisdom,” let’s get to the part of this book that made me angry and quite, quite alienated: For someone setting out to write a book about love, this guy really indulges in his animosity toward cats way too much! From saying that dogs go to heaven but cats definitely don’t (FALSE! I will fight you!) to a chapter’s vague opening analogy recounting how he accidentally killed a cat starting his car (I’m not so sure about that “accidentally” part…), it just seems like he should have maybe saved that material for a “Real Hate in a Feline World” sequel of sorts.
I have a strict policy that No Animals Are Harmed in the books that I read. Anyone who has watched any show with a dog or cat or shark with me knows that I am rooting for the innocent animal at all costs, even if a certain underwater photographer I affectionally refer to as “Sharkbait” has to lose a limb to feed a poor starving mako to do it. So the unnecessary anti-feline vitriol was off-putting to me as I was trying to learn about loving people without compromising my conviction that cats are sweet and beautiful and mysterious and smart and overall wonderful and…how dare you, sir, how dare you.
Having bought this online after only seeing a short blurb in a catalog, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. In a way, it was like setting myself up for a blind date with a book. The first couple pages were a bit unsettling—those are the pages with the “accolades” from other authors or personalities…and three of them were by relatives of the author. It’s not usually a good sign when the author’s mom is telling you how great the book is—though, to be fair, in retrospect I think this was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek as this particular accolade talks mainly of the author’s propensity for wearing socks with sandals. Which I think is pretty daring, since I would have immediately put the book back on the shelf after reading that if I hadn’t already bought it.
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