Review by Adam Curtis
There are very few books I consider worthy of a reread, this is one of them! I think I have read it page to page at least three times, and parts of it I read every time I start a new job. “What’s Best Next: How the gospel transforms the way you get things done.” by Matthew Perman is a gem, and will be valuable for anybody who cares about living a purposeful and productive life for the glory of God.
Matthew Perman is trying to achieve two things in this excellent book. Firstly, he gives us a theology of productivity, or put differently he helps the reader answer the question, what does God think about the work we do? I found this section of the book so inspiring. Not only does he give us a big vision of God, but also a big reason for why we would want to place God at the center of our thinking about productivity and work.
Secondly, he gives practical advice that the reader can immediately implement. He gives advice on managing your emails, on planning your week, on using your time effectively, and on working out what you should actually be doing with your life. This last piece of advice I found incredibly helpful when I was in my mid-twenties. Why? Because he encouraged me to think through and write down what my core principles are, and write a mission statement for life (Yes I do have a mission statement for life, and no I’m not going to tell you). Once I did this I had a strong idea of what sort of career to pursue. Now even though I’m still on that career path, I have redone this exercise in the last few years and I’ve found it so rewarding as it has helped me focus my resources and time.
So much of our lives are spent working. We can either resent this, use work as a means of feeding are idols, or we can discover how to serve God in and through our work. If you want to learn how to use your working life for the glory of God then I highly recommend What’s Best Next by Matthew Perman.
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