Sometimes I’m drawn to a book just because it has a provocative or catchy title, and that was certainly the case with this new book by Leonard Sweet, The Bad Habits of Jesus: Showing Us the Way to Live Right in a World Gone Wrong. Although I’ve not read any of Sweet’s other books, we have a few in the house and I know that his titles often draw readers in to something deeper. I found this to be true for this book. (Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the publisher and my review reflects my honest opinion.)
More than just a clever title, The Bad Habits of Jesus reminds followers of Christ that he wasn’t always a “good” person as we might define good. He broke the rules, spent time with people he “shouldn’t” have, wasn’t polite and often appeared wasteful, extravagant or like he was procrastinating. I found Sweet’s listing of these habits interesting and a reminder that my life is only “good” when it lines up with Jesus.
In the opening chapter, I was challenged to think anew about the time when Jesus spit on the ground and used the mud to heal a man. Spitting in our culture is frowned upon, at least in public, and I’ve never thought of it as an insulting gesture. Sweet says this, “From a gesture of insult, Jesus created a magnificent and powerful blessing. And isn’t that how God works anyway?” (p. 4)
Sweet’s writing style is quick-paced and he plays with words in a way that I almost envy. Sometimes his turns of phrase are a little too cute for my tastes, but he makes memorable points. In a chapter about Jesus spending too much time with children, he challenges the church to inclusion of children because Jesus cared not only about their presence but about their wisdom. Sweet writes, “Truth is truth whether spoken by a child or a king. There is no halfway Holy Spirit. The question for Jesus was not ‘How old are you?’ but ‘Do you have ears that hear?'” (p. 115) I wonder how many times I’ve dismissed my own children for thinking they can’t possibly know spiritual truth.
I was overall encouraged and challenged by this book and would recommend it as a refreshing look at what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Towards the end of the book, Sweet lists all the ways Jesus wasn’t a “very good Christian” by our definitions of that phrase. It’s convicting.