The Cost of Control

Title: The Cost of Control Why We Crave It, The Anxiety it Gives Us, and the Real Power God Promises

Author: Sharon Hodde Miller

Publisher: Baker Books

Genre: Christian Nonfiction, Christian Living

Source: Library/Own

My Review:

The Cost of Control Why We Crave It, The Anxiety it Gives Us, and the Real Power God Promises is the first book I have read by Sharon Hodde Miller, but it won't be the last. I checked it out of the library, but by the end of the second chapter it was one I knew I needed to own.

What Satan did not want them to know (Adam & Eve) and is still deceiving us with today is the more we seek control, the less control we feel.

In a world that constantly seems to be spinning out of control, I could not have picked a better book to start reading at the beginning of this year. If you can't tell by all the tabs sticking out of it, I loved this book and learned so much. In fact, I ordered my own copy so I could mark it and keep it.

 Freedom, knowledge, and choice are all good things, given to us by God. But when we possess an overabundance of them, it gives us a false sense of our own control.

We don't always link these two factors together but understanding the relationship between anxiety and control explains a lot about what we are seeing and experiencing.

This book has four sections. The first is why we control, the second is how we control, the third is what it costs us, and the fourth section is the real power God promises. 

Sharon Hodde Miller has packed a lot of truth and nuggets of wisdom into this small book. She covers a wide variety of topics under the umbrella of control. She has chapters on power, money, theology, shame, burnout and so much more.

There is no way to do a book like this justice. I loved it. I know it will not be for everyone, but it is exactly what I needed for the beginning of this year.

★★★★★/5

Synopsis (Goodreads):

We all wish we had more control. When our relationships are strained, when our bodies refuse to cooperate, when the future is uncertain, control promises security and peace. If only I were in charge , we dream. And this illusion seems more attainable than ever. Technology, science, medicine, and the internet all promise us ever-increasing mastery over our world.

The problem is, control is a "devil's deal." The more we seek it, the more it betrays us. In place of predictability, it gives us anxiety. In place of certainty, it creates more complexity. And in place of unity, it divides. It's not just that we cannot control things; it's that we break them even more when we try.

Thankfully the answer to our craving is not simply to "let go and let God." When our kids aren't listening, when our loved ones are self-destructing, or when our health is declining, we don't have to scramble after control, nor do we have to throw up our hands. Instead, God has given us a better tool.

In this culturally insightful and eye-opening book, Sharon Hodde Miller helps us discover the real power God has given us in Christ, to exercise influence over ourselves and our lives.