The Life We're Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World

by Andy Crouch

"A deeply reflective primer on creating meaningful connections, rebuilding abundant communities, and living in a way that engages our full humanity in an age of unprecedented anxiety and loneliness-from the author of The Tech-Wise Family. Our greatest need is to be recognized-to be seen, loved, and embedded in rich relationships with those around us. But for the last century, we've displaced that need with the ease of technology. We've dreamed of mastery without relationship (what the premodern world called magic) and abundance without dependence (what Jesus called Mammon). Yet even before a pandemic disrupted that quest, we felt threatened and strangely out of lonely, anxious, bored amid endless options, oddly disconnected amid infinite connections. In The Life We're Looking For, bestselling author Andy Crouch shows how we have been seduced by a false vision of human flourishing-and how each of us can fight back. From the social innovations of the early Christian movement to the efforts of entrepreneurs working to create more humane technology, Crouch shows how we can restore true community and put people first in a world dominated by money, power, and devices. There is a way out of our impersonal world, into a world where knowing and being known are the heartbeat of our days, our households, and our economies. Where our vulnerabilities are seen not as something to be escaped but as the key to our becoming who we were made to be together. Where technology serves us rather than masters us-and helps us become more human, not less"--

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Christian Living, Technology, Theology, Self Help, Cultural

195 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2022

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

For twelve years Andy was an editor and producer at Christianity Today (CT), including serving as executive editor from 2012 to 2016. He joined the John Templeton Foundation in 2017 as senior strategist for communication. His work and writing have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time, and several editions of Best Christian Writing and Best Spiritual Writing—and, most importantly, received a shout-out in Lecrae's 2014 single "Non-Fiction." He serves on the governing boards of Fuller Theological Seminary and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

From 1998 to 2003, Andy was the editor-in-chief of re:generation quarterly, a magazine for an emerging generation of culturally creative Christians. For ten years he was a campus minister with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Harvard University. He studied classics at Cornell University and received an M.Div. summa cum laude from Boston University School of Theology. A classically trained musician who draws on pop, folk, rock, jazz, and gospel, he has led musical worship for congregations of 5 to 20,000.

Reviews

[Katelyn Beaty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended for anyone who wants a profound but accessible diagnosis for why we feel so ill at ease and lonely in a time of multiplying options, comforts and freedom. Reading this made me more human.

[Zack Clemmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I HATE MAMMON!
I HATE MAMMON!
I HATE MAMMON!

[Andrei Rad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ”life we’re looking for” is explained in the first chapter. A newborn infant is spending his first 1 hours of life in what medics call “quiet alert”. Looking for another person’s face, looking for recognition. The personal and the relational is the life the author elevates. It’s the life that fulfils our deepest desires as unique image bearers of God. However, our modern lives have departed from this way of life. We use technology to create “superpowers” (i.e. “powers without effort”) at the cost of our personhood (i.e. “heart-soul-mind-strength complex designed for love”) because the “modern magic” diminishes our capacities. Andy identifies Mammon at the heart of this movement: “Mammon wants to put all persons into the service of things and ultimately to bring about the exploitation of all of creation”. While “the life we’re looking for” is personal and relational, the life we end up with in Modernity is impersonal and isolated. Then the author demonstrates how the New Testament is filled with personal enrichment. For example, The letters of Paul were conveyed by dear friends and close associates of the sacred author.

I find the first part of the book profound and interesting, but reading the second part felt like reading a series of articles, not chapters of the initial book. I think the discussion needs more nuance and concreteness. Valuing households and using technology as instruments rather than devices is pretty evident. In conclusion it’s a good book, but in my opinion it didn’t explore with enough diligence the complexities and practicalites of such a subject.

[Philip Yancey]

The rock star Bono famously sang, “But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” Andy Crouch offers a counter-melody. As always, Crouch offers wisdom and perspective, especially as we navigate an increasingly technological and media-driven world. How do we prevent such powerful forces from taking over our lives?

[Haley Baumeister · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are two talks I've watched/listened to, that I have revisited multiple times: Andy Crouch's "A Pruned Life" and Anthony Bradley's "Christian Personalism".

Andy's talk discusses the idea of low friction vs. high friction practices in our technological society. The former are fleeting, and leave us feeling shallow & lonely. The latter require more of us, but make for lasting, worthwhile work & relationships. Dr. Bradley's talk discusses the unique contribution Christians can make in seeking out faces, persons, and relationships that dignify and give life. This book is such a beautiful melding of these two huge ideas.

I also got whiff of themes found in the likes of Alan Noble's "You Are Not Your Own", Pete Davis' "Dedicated", and Charles Camosy's "Resisting Throwaway Culture" ....in addition to the many books that examine technology & psychology, ethics & religion. It gently brings forward our need for human connection. Our need to belong. Our need for real faces. Our need to be known. Our need to be part of a household of care, however that looks.

This book may touch on several popular genres, but Andy has a particular way of analyzing with compassion. Of observing while also being there with the reader. Of seeing the overwhelming disfunction but offering incredibly real ways forward. This book gave me hope for the choices we have to bring the Kingdom of Christ to a lonely, objectifying, addicted, disconnected society. Of choosing the higher friction practices in order to honor the images of God among us, and become more whole ourselves.

[Samuel Kassing · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are coming to this book looking for advice or technique on how to manage technology and develop relationships you will probably be disappointed with this book.

If you are looking for more a theological vision for how to orient yourself in the midst of a tech society you will be happy.

If you are looking for quick fixes or strategies you’ll be disappointed.

If you are looking for a vision of personhood and household that is driven by instruments and not devices. One that pushes against the love of money and the liturgies that money weaves in our lives then you’ll enjoy it.

Another insightful work by Andy Crouch.

[George P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone to the world on January 9, 2007. Since then, Apple has sold more than 2.2 billion units. My iPhone 11 has more computing power and runs more sophisticated apps than my first computer, which was a Macintosh Classic.

Smartphones make life easier. I can call, text, or videoconference people for work and for fun. I can write (or dictate), edit, post, and share articles via social media. I can snap pictures or take video of family events. When I’m bored, I can stream my favorite TV shows or movies. And I can shop for almost anything anytime online.

By the same token, though, smartphones make life weirder. I experience phantom vibration syndrome, the feeling that my phone is buzzing even though it’s not. My ability to concentrate when reading a book has suffered, as I now constantly check my iPhone for fear of missing out. And how often have I seen (or been) the date-night couple checking their devices instead of talking to one another?

All technological advances have such pros and cons. To evaluate tech, then, we must ask whether it contributes to human flourishing. And that, in turn, forces us to ask even more fundamental questions: What is a human being, and what constitutes human flourishing?

The Life We’re Looking For by Andy Crouch seeks to answer those questions. According to Jesus’ Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37–40), people are supposed to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love their neighbors as themselves. From this, Crouch infers a definition of human being: “Every person is a heart-soul-mind-strength complex designed for love.” If this is what human beings are, then flourishing occurs when people grow holistically into their relational design.

The problem with technology is that it promises “power without relationship” and “abundance without dependence.” Crouch names these two promises “magic” and “Mammon,” respectively. They hold out the hope for “superpowers” that enable us to rise beyond our limitations.

Ironically, however, magic and Mammon, when left unchecked, corrode the holism and relationality that make life worthwhile. Crouch counts the costs:

Mind: “The defining mental activity of our time is scrolling … taking shallow hits of trivia, humor, and outrage to make up for the depths of learning, joy, and genuine lament that now feel beyond our reach.”

Strength: “The defining illness of our time is metabolic syndrome, the chronic combination of high weight, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar that is the hallmark of an inactive life.”

Heart: “The defining emotional challenge of our time is anxiety …. Now we live as voyeurs, pursuing shadowy vestiges of what we desire from behind the one-way mirror of a screen, invulnerable but alone.”

Soul: “We have lost the sense that we are both at home and on a pilgrimage in the vast, mysterious cosmos, anchored in a rich reality beyond ourselves.”

In short, technology reduces flourishing to an exercise of power in pursuit of stuff, ignoring the non-material and relational aspects of human being. “So it is no wonder that the defining condition of our time is a sense of loneliness and alienation,” Crouch writes. FaceTime is no substitute for face-to-face time, you might say. Technology cannot replace relationship.

In my opinion, there is no greater proof of the truth of this statement than the past two years of the pandemic. However necessary social isolation and information technology were for getting us through Covid, their use has correlated with an increase in mental health disorders and a decrease in social trust.

The dangers of technology don’t require Christians to become Luddites, however. Remember, technology has pros, too, not just cons. I know this personally. At the age of 21, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that that causes inflammation in the vertebrae. Over time, the disease curves the spine forward into the shape of a C, making it difficult to walk or breathe.

At first, the treatment for this condition consisted of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that alleviated the effects of inflammation. Advances in medical technology have produced biologic agents that reduce the causes of inflammation. Biologics have side effects, to be sure — such as greater proneness to infection — but overall, the newer treatment is much better than the older one.

So how do we discern the usefulness of technological advancements? How do we know that tech is helping us become heart-soul-mind-strength complexes designed for love? How do we avoid tech that promises power without relationship and abundance without dependence?

It would help, Crouch suggests, if we would distinguish a “device” from an “instrument.” Say you want to play Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G-major. You could take out your iPhone, open the YouTube app, and play a video of Yo-Yo Ma performing the song. Or you could take out a cello, open the score, and play the suite yourself. In this example, your iPhone is a device while your cello is an instrument.

Both the iPhone and the cello allow you to do something you wouldn’t be able to do without them: play Bach’s Cell Suite No. 1 in G-major. The difference is that a device makes you rely on its capabilities, while an instrument forces you to develop your own capabilities. Only the latter is consistent with growth as a heart-mind-soul-strength complex.

Mostly, though, Crouch focuses on developing our capacity to form loving relationships in a “household” as the antidote to magic and Mammon. A household is related to but not limited to a “family.” Crouch writes:

A household is both place and people — or maybe better, it is a particular people with a particular place. A household is a community of persons who may well take shelter under one roof but also and more fundamentally take shelter under one another’s care and concern. They provide for one another, and they depend on one another. They mingle their assets and their liabilities, their gifts and their vulnerabilities, in such a way that it is hard to tell where one member’s end and another member’s begin.

If technology offers power without relationship and abundance without dependence, the household offers its antithesis: relationship that empowers the powerless and dependence that abounds to the needy. According to Crouch, the New Testament exemplifies this kind of “community of the useless,” one blessedly free of a concern for magic and Mammon. It can make use of technological advances, but it always requires that such advances serve the purpose of binding people to one another in love.

The Life We’re Looking For, like Andy Crouch’s other books, is well-written and thought-provoking. I see the truth of its analysis most clearly when it comes to IT, smartphones, and social media. Such communication technologies are excellent examples of magic and Mammon’s false promises.

But I’d be lying if I said those promises held no allure for me. Creating a community modeled on the New Testament household is not easy. It requires us to acknowledge our needs, even as we use our resources to meet the needs of others. Too often, we just don’t want to bother or be bothered. We want to be left to our own devices.

And that, I suspect, is the attitude driving our dependence on technology.

Book Reviewed

Andy Crouch, The Life We’re Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World (New York: Convergent, 2022).

P.S. If you liked my review, please click “Helpful” on my Amazon review page.

P.P.S. This review is cross-posted from InfluenceMagazine.com by permission.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crouch is now one of those authors whose books are automatic reads for me, and once again he delivers timely wisdom and insight.

Here are a couple good reviews:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Kaitlyn Schiess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unsurprisingly brilliant, accessible, moving, true.

[Crosby Cobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this book and think I will still be processing a lot of the content but my initial thoughts are that it’s super important! Informative. Helpful. Insightful. Andy Crouch’s voice is credible and trustable. He writes with gentleness and thoughtfulness and is just so dang smart!

I initially picked the book up in hopes of better understanding technology and its effects on relationships, communication, society, etc. but actually ended up learning a lot about the human condition. Crouch talks a lot about human connection, the imago dei, and the importance of prioritizing a view of individual persons in light of these things in our lives, work, and play. His arguments were more abstract / narrative-based than I was expecting — a pleasant surprise! Will probably use this as a resource for a long time!

[Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunningly perceptive and immensely helpful. I've been looking for a guide for living the Kingdom in today's world. This is an excellent starting point.

[Ransom · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the surface, there’s a lot to like about this book. In face of growing isolation, loneliness, and dehumanization, the call to humanize, love, commune, recognize personhood, and form healthy households is timely, good, and appropriate.

However, since these conclusions aren’t firmly rooted, there’s a very real danger of sliding into something not so good. It’s a little like a ship that is in the right location, but since they don’t drop anchor, can be slowly carried out to sea away from where it’s supposed to be.

On page 146, Crouch says, “it is certainly true that in the long run that choice is up to us: what we ask our technology to do,” but then never really develops this idea. It’s as if there’s a reluctance to acknowledge that the human heart is prone to sin and it is humans who make instruments into devices, who make idols out of gifts.

By personifying certain kinds of technology as “Mammon,” it is easy to picture our devices as having malicious intent, but that’s not the case. Humans design devices for certain intents and humans choose to use devices for certain purposes that reveal what our hearts worship. Language like “what technology wants” is therefore misleading. In the end, if we turn from the idol of technology (even for good reasons), we are just as likely to make an idol out of something else, like “community/household.” The answer isn’t just to form communities. Since communities are human endeavors, and humans are fallen, communities will ultimately disappoint.

The only real answer to avoid unsatisfying idols is to root everything in God and His relationship to us. God’s relationship to us as exemplified in the incarnation of Jesus Christ serves as a model for us. The answer is to know God intimately so we can form communities where people can meet and know Him better. When we have complete fulfillment in a God who never fails, this motivates, guides, and overflows into the household building that Crouch espouses: where we can use technology for humanizing reasons (like the ianacare example Crouch gives).

In the end, I think Crouch has some good, practical observations and advice, but in reacting (rightly!) to the de-humanization and isolation that comes from certain devices, I’m afraid he’s set us up for another disappointment by creating another idol in “community” that won’t ultimately satisfy. The goal can’t be to cure loneliness and isolation by pursuing community. That’s just another form of self-centeredness. The goal must be to pursue God first and foremost and then when devices and community fail us, we will still not be shaken because of our firm foundation in an unchanging, eternal, loving God.

I received a free copy of this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.

[Samcwright · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book about technology consumption fro a distinctly Christian angle. It highlights how at the root of technology is the desire to turn people into “things”. Things that can be manipulated or standardized to create more effective machine learning models or simply things to perpetuate consumption. It’s a unique and interesting lens through which to examine the role of technology and how we can ultimately overcome this perspective to see people as people once again.

[Noah Senthil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a full-blown Crouch-ian at this point, which doesn’t mean he’s above critique, but this is worth acknowledging at the outset: Andy Crouch has painted such a lovely vision of human flourishing in the digital age in his articles, lectures, The Tech-Wise Family, and The Life We’re Looking For, that I’ll read anything he writes and probably try to implement it too.

The first 8 chapters of the book are cultural diagnosis and critique, and the last 4 chapters are a constructive vision.

The first 8 offer some very helpful distinctions, and Crouch’s argument about technology-as-magic is gold. Besides Chapter 10, this is probably his greatest contribution. But that 2/3rds of the book felt too long and drawn out. I found myself asking, “Okay, but where are we going?” I think it would’ve been best to maybe keep that to the first 4 chapters or simply interweave it throughout.

The last 4 chapters are really good. Transforming “devices” into “instruments” is a superbly useful distinction. But, as previously mentioned, I loved Chapter 10: “From Family to Households.” He offers a vision of common life both smaller and bigger than “families” with the term “households.” The idea is that instead of living alone, or even in a two parent/two child household, we create communities within households filled with widows, orphans, celibates, and nuclear families. A household is a place where everyone finds a home. In a world of profound loneliness, this is a real solution.

I know Christians who do similar things, but it’s by no means the norm. If everyone began to do what Crouch proposes here…it would revolutionize the Western world. That’s not going to happen. But I can do it. And so could you. And Christians have always done their best work from the margins. That’s his point in the concluding chapter. We, like the early church, may be under the rule of Mammon without much ability to *impact* the culture, but a hundred generations from now, we’ll still be here—and who’s to say what kind of *influence* we might have by then?

Even if that doesn’t happen, this is about living well now with what we have and the *persons* we’ve been given to love, and he offers a pretty compelling vision. The last thing I’ll say is that I want MORE. This book was too small, and he needs to write another one.

[Kaiden Tolkamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annie sent me a headline today that quoted the CEO of Duolingo claiming that in the next few years AI will replace teachers in schools because it’ll do a better job teaching kids, but schools will still exist “because you still need daycare” and I just.......... I’m just so thankful that people like Andy Crouch exist 😭

This is an exceptionally well written book (goodness, the writing is good!) with an exceptionally on-the-nose diagnosis of our age and exceptionally helpful wisdom for how to live Christianly in it.

I could write an essay on this, but instead I’ll list the things that will keep ringing in my head:

- walking through the airport, looking at each face, and saying “image bearer”
- we already live with robots... and they’re boring!
- Humans are, at their core, heart-soul-mind-strength complexes designed for love
- Our technology must engage our heart-soul-mind-and-strength-ness or it is dehumanizing
- The unquestioned embrace of superpowers has been our downfall (but it doesn’t have to be!)
- Flow is hard to get into but satisfying to finish; the superpower zone is easy to slip into but leaves us unsatisfied
- Power must go with relationship. Abundance must go with dependence
- I want to build a household
- Mammon SUCKS
- The best thing I can do for my daughter is to be with her face to face, putting “usefulness” aside

Thank you, Mr. Crouch. Tech-Wise Family next!

[BJ Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andy Crouch speaks my language. He has put into beautiful words many of the ideas that were churning in unfinished nexus form deep inside my heart and my subconscious. His insights have put into words the discontent and ill ease that has been growing in my soul with regards to the ever increasing isolationism that is part of our technological world.

Crouch isn't a Luddite. His premise is not that technology is bad but rather that we must own out technology rather than letting it own us. He creates dichotomies like devices vs instruments and superpowers vs flow to demonstrate how modern innovations can promise the world and yet steal our soul (while giving us none of those things promised).

A few quotes:

"Before we ever knew to look for a mirror, we were looking for another person's face."

"Power without effort, it turns out, diminishes us as much as it delights us."

"Once we lived with allness of heart, with a boldness of quest that was too in love with the good to call off pursuit when we encountered risk. Now we live as voyeurs, pursuing shadowy vestiges of what we desire from behind the one way mirror of a screen, invulnerable but alone."

Crouch gives his book a bold title. As he himself acknowledges, we are bombarded with big, bold promises all the time. There are all kinds of new gadgets, new diets, new financial investment plans, new... whatever, that will boldly promise "the life we are looking for" and yet they all fail to deliver even a fraction of what they promise. So I was skeptical going in to this book. It didn't take me long to realize that Crouch doesn't just promise... he delivers. My life, your life, our lives will all be so much deeper and richer if we allow the ideas he presents to saturate our souls and impact influence our lives. Get this book. Devour it. You won't regret it.

[Lachie Macdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paints a sobering picture of our current relationship with technology, displacing and diminishing our humanity. But Crouch also invites us to consider a better way, and presents an attractive alternative where technology serves to make us more human, in the service of real flourishing and relationships.
The challenge now is to actually resist what is easy in favour of what is good.

[James Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book compelling in its discussion about technology, work, relationships, and so much more. I appreciate how he explains the value of the unuseful. But I hesitate to fully embrace it because it could also become an excuse to let a person with potential not make use of that potential. Overall, a good book that I would recommend to anyone wanting to explore the ideals of Christian community.

[Mitch Vanyo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much, and it hit in all the right ways. It wasn't primarily focused on specific things to start (or stop) doing, but it provided language and stories around technology and community that will be helpful while further developing and embodying these values in my own context. Repeatedly tracing problems back to Mammon and his values was unexpected and could be off-putting, but I'm also wondering if maybe Andy Crouch is onto something there. This book was energizing and left me wanting to think, read, and do more related to building a loving household and pursuing healthy communities and economies.

[Allie Osborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

No page, no concept, no analogy wasted. This is one of those rare non-fiction books where you can’t set down in the middle: Andy isn’t finished with you until the very end. Full of wisdom and humanizing applications, but above all, full of hope. I love this book. I hope I’m changed by it.

[Jonathon Keeler]

i love andy crouch.

[Jonathan Shaheen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A succinct, insightful, and hopeful articulation of the prevalence of loneliness in our society and what to do about it.

[Caitlin Furey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super thought provoking. What is the best way to live in a culture/world that is obsessed with technology, comfort, and independence? Are we taking the time to truly know people and care for them? I felt a bit dispirited reading this, because so much of modern society is designed to reduce opportunities for person-to-person connection. But he does have some hopeful suggestions in the second half.
A good one to read before New Year’s resolutions (what will my goal related to reducing screen time be?). Highly recommend!

[Sarah Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top book of the year.

[Elliot Omohundro · Rating 3 out of 5]

STROADS MENTIONED

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book explores why technology, which has made life easier, has also made life lonelier. Crouch argues that the counterpoint to technology is developing strong community. He lays a historical foundation to understand how technology has shaped us. Scripture is used to illustrate how community was formed regardless of socioeconomic status, recognizing the personhood of all. It’s an interesting thesis that fell apart for me, especially in the second half of the book.

One thing that is missing is a thorough, gospel-oriented explanation of how biblical community came to be and who held it together: Jesus Christ. Also missing is that community was important to encourage other believers principally in the faith. Without faith in Jesus, community that truly conquers the worship of material things (mammon) fails.

The second half of the book focuses on reclaiming relationship. I agree that Christians need to care for the poor, widowed and orphaned and in doing so they may feel more useful and less lonely. I don’t agree with the implication that worship of mammon is only a first world problem and only a charmed life problem. It is actually a human problem because we all are sinners so even the poorest of the poor in third world countries are affected. Yes, poor people can treat human beings as if they are not persons!

While there are some good ideas in this book, it fails to deliver. The second half is particularly confusing and lacks focus. I do not recommend.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not bad perse. However the main claim, that the ease of technology is displacing our greatest need to be recognized as people, is not necessarily connected with great arguments. The book felt choppy. Crouch uses Paul’s letter to the Romans to show an example of relationship reclamation that extends beyond financial and social classes. He explains the need for Christian’s and non-Christian’s alike to fight against Mammon(wealth as evil influence of false worship). However, I did like this examples that with technical advances there are two promises. 1. “Now you will be able to…” and 2. “You’ll no longer have to…”. But then with new devices there are two additional consequences 3. “You’ll no longer be able to…” and 4. “Now you’ll have to…”. For example, signing up for and utilizing an unlimited streaming service decreases the time and concentration available for reading books. With having a phone, now you will have to upgrade in the future to keep up with the new benefits. Overall, again, not a bad book, but the chapters did not mesh well together for the claim itself.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been looking forward to this book anxiously, and it did not disappoint me. This book isn’t an excellent combination and next step of the argument from Playing God, Culture Making, and Tech-Wise Family.

This is also a very timely book.

We live in a moment of increasing isolation, and there are many consequences to that reality. Andy prophetically states amid the current cultural milieu that the way forward is not through the magic of technology but in recognizing and seeing people as heart-soul-mind-strength complexes designed for love. Our culture would be radically different if we all lived out the principles from this book.

Thank you, Andy, for a thoughtful, challenging, well-written gift.

(I received an electronic galley from the publisher in NetGalley.)

[Jake Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stirring story about the destructive power of technology and the way our devices hamper our ability to love and function as the persons God designed. Yet Crouch doesn't instruct us to return to completely to primitive living; rather, to transform our devices into instruments and to form households where deep reflection and intentional living are possible. His revelation of the demonic, person-like force of Mammon and superb biblical exposition of Paul's letter to the Romans was brilliant, challenging, and beautiful. I will be reflecting on the contents of this book for a long time. It's hard to imagine finding a more relevant book in 2022.

[Macy Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book presents an incredible framework for thinking about advances in/engagement with technology. Technology isn't inherently evil, but putting profit above all else is. It is possible on a societal level to advance technology in ways that will benefit human flourishing and dignity, not just advance profits. It is also possible on an individual and community level to choose to engage with technology in ways that does not hinder true connection, which is what we most need. So thankful for Crouch's work and wisdom on this topic.