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Be Wise Small
Ever wish you had taken more time to listen to the wisdom of a godly grandmother or grandfather? Ever wish you could articulate what you've learned about your life with God and pass that on to your children, grandchildren, or even great-grandchildren? Honor the Lord, even in small matters. Dee Bowman has distilled a lifetime of godly wisdom into small, manageable, memorable statements and stories. Life will teach its lessons. The question is Will you learn through wounds, bruises, and brokenness or through the shared wisdom of a Scripture-soaked sage? Dee Bowman was born and raised in Texas. After finishing his education, he entered the entertainment and radio business with his two brothers. He began preaching full time in 1971 and preached for almost 40 years at the Southside Church of Christ in Pasadena, TX. He served as one of the editors of Christianity Magazine for 16 years and as an Adjunct Professor at Florida College for 14 years. He is the author of several books, including Common Sense Preaching. Bowman and his wife, Norma Jean, have two children and three grandchildren.
124 pages, Paperback
Published January 20, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 26, 2023
I’ll start by saying that a friend gave me a copy of this book. He adored it. I also found plenty of good content in here. And I’m not in the habit of bashing decent books published and distributed on a shoestring budget and a mountain of passion. Knowing how many typos I have put into the world, I’ll not be hard on the author and his editors for the sheer number of mistakes I found while reading. I did, however, take issue with a few things here that mattered more to me than some misplaced commas.
First of all, the format was incredibly off-putting. I’m aware that, as stated in the introduction, the book was intentionally random and disjointed. Still, it could have been organized even just a little bit more. Cursed with an excellent memory as I am, I noticed numerous proverbs that were repeated (clearly unintentionally) multiple times through the book, some almost word-for-word. (See the quote about the influence of teachers on pages 19, 28, and 66.)
Secondly, while Bowman’s particular stance on this issue was much milder than that of some people I’ve known, he certainly falls into the trap bemoaning the state of the world and its young people (again, he’s much kinder than most). My top frustration, especially among Christians, is the viewpoint that our current time is somehow more evil, more wicked, more corrupt, and more lazy than any generation yet. I mean, on one hand, come on. Have you ever heard of Noah? Did you also read that story? Old people all the way back to Adam and Eve have been moaning about how things just aren’t good like they used to be. At one point they were right, but it’s certainly not true now. And even if it were true that this age were particularly ungodly, check out Ecclesiastes 7:10:
“Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions.”
Finally, the issue that came up the least but that was the most important to me: I simply cannot accept some of the “wisdom” offered in this book. I understand that the author and I, while many of our beliefs may overlap, have different worldviews. I do. But still, some (and I do mean a very small percentage of the book content) of his advice and opinions were not good. The worst bit I found was on page 71:
“One of the most repugnant scenes in life is watching a person smoking a cigarette while standing in line to pay for groceries with food stamps.”
What is this supposed to mean? I assume it’s meant to refer to that good old conservative ideal that poor people deserve no help and no frivolity in life until they have fixed their state of existence. I have no issue with supporting the poor. I love that food stamps exist for anyone who needs them. I wish more poor people had a few extra dollars to spend every day on things they want but don’t need.
And if the cigarette was meant to be the focal point of this picture, then I must say, my opinion of the author of this statement is lowered ever further. How can a Christian find an addict repugnant rather than pitiable? Why should this image fill me with disgust rather than compassion? When I see someone on food stamps smoking a cigarette, I hope that they find help, kindness and comfort. I hope that the man looking at them smiles and says hello instead of turning away.
In the end, yes, there were some good tidbits in this book. But it wasn’t enough to outweigh its detractors.
First of all, the format was incredibly off-putting. I’m aware that, as stated in the introduction, the book was intentionally random and disjointed. Still, it could have been organized even just a little bit more. Cursed with an excellent memory as I am, I noticed numerous proverbs that were repeated (clearly unintentionally) multiple times through the book, some almost word-for-word. (See the quote about the influence of teachers on pages 19, 28, and 66.)
Secondly, while Bowman’s particular stance on this issue was much milder than that of some people I’ve known, he certainly falls into the trap bemoaning the state of the world and its young people (again, he’s much kinder than most). My top frustration, especially among Christians, is the viewpoint that our current time is somehow more evil, more wicked, more corrupt, and more lazy than any generation yet. I mean, on one hand, come on. Have you ever heard of Noah? Did you also read that story? Old people all the way back to Adam and Eve have been moaning about how things just aren’t good like they used to be. At one point they were right, but it’s certainly not true now. And even if it were true that this age were particularly ungodly, check out Ecclesiastes 7:10:
“Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions.”
Finally, the issue that came up the least but that was the most important to me: I simply cannot accept some of the “wisdom” offered in this book. I understand that the author and I, while many of our beliefs may overlap, have different worldviews. I do. But still, some (and I do mean a very small percentage of the book content) of his advice and opinions were not good. The worst bit I found was on page 71:
“One of the most repugnant scenes in life is watching a person smoking a cigarette while standing in line to pay for groceries with food stamps.”
What is this supposed to mean? I assume it’s meant to refer to that good old conservative ideal that poor people deserve no help and no frivolity in life until they have fixed their state of existence. I have no issue with supporting the poor. I love that food stamps exist for anyone who needs them. I wish more poor people had a few extra dollars to spend every day on things they want but don’t need.
And if the cigarette was meant to be the focal point of this picture, then I must say, my opinion of the author of this statement is lowered ever further. How can a Christian find an addict repugnant rather than pitiable? Why should this image fill me with disgust rather than compassion? When I see someone on food stamps smoking a cigarette, I hope that they find help, kindness and comfort. I hope that the man looking at them smiles and says hello instead of turning away.
In the end, yes, there were some good tidbits in this book. But it wasn’t enough to outweigh its detractors.
March 5, 2024
To know Dee Bowman is to love him. You can hear and see him in his writing. This is a warm little book full of little bits of wisdom from Brother Bowman's life. While I love the material, I hate the book feel and shape. A book of this nature should be small with tight margins. This is more like a workbook without the questions. Printing criticisms, not material criticisms.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews