Becoming a King
Book Review
I recently finished Morgan Snyder’s Becoming a King. I wanted to share some quotes and impressions.
Becoming A King: The Path to Restoring the Heart of a Man is written by Morgan Snyder. I became aware of this book when I heard an excellent presentation from a man who leads a recovery house for struggling young men. I can see how this resource would open up some rich conversations as these guys try to get their lives together. I think any man could get some encouragement from Snyder’s interesting book.
“Here is the unapologetic premise of this book: the desire to be powerful—to lead, care for, and bring goodness to a man’s realm—is central to the soul. The story line of what we do with power is the path to recovering the depth and breadth of what God meant when he made you and me.”
A profound theme is the pain of fatherlessness. This is undoubtedly the experience of many, and it has an impact not only on our culture but also on the lives of individual men.
“Every man knows fatherlessness at some level, and so we go it alone.”
I could write my own book on that, but I wouldn’t be unique. I think there are some powerful teachings in this book. It is obviously heavily influenced by John Eldridge, but Snyder is upfront about that.
“If there is one central idea from which this entire conversation flows, it’s this: our masculine heart, the truest us, created in the image of God, is always—at every moment—being expressed and operating through either the true self or the false self. It is critical to understand this idea, because it is the beginning of the lifetime process of becoming aware of which self is active, dismantling the false self, and restoring the true.”
I did enjoy much of this book and I actually thought the first third was eye-opening. I appreciated the openness that Snyder communicated about his own life and struggles.
But overall this was not a book I enjoyed throughout. Eldridge’s poetic and sweeping style is evident here, reminding me of Wild at Heart. I had a hard time getting a grasp of Snyder’s concept of what it means to be a man. I just do not think it takes into account a range of personalities. We can’t all be John Wayne. Some of the movie stereotypes of what it means to be a man were, to me, more about how to be macho than how to function as godly men in an ungodly culture. I got the picture sometimes that a REAL man is a beer-drinking, cigar-smoking, gun-toting hunter sitting around a campfire - which may be a way for some men to find their way through the issues of life to the God-ward path. But, I think I may be too aware of addiction issues and the societal pressures to conform to stereotypical images of any kind to accept this as the way to grow into my ‘masculine soul’.
“We were intended for intimacy, relational integrity, and wholehearted courageousness—all of which are available only in and through the death of the false self and the restoration of the true self.”
Who would enjoy this book? I think especially young men who have struggled with not having a father to teach them how to approach the hardships of life will treasure this book. I feel pretty sure that this is the intended audience. There is a wealth of valuable guidance that won’t be gained from television or the movies when it comes to living as a man of God. I think my 29-year-old self would have gotten a lot out of this book. At 58, I did gain some things.
“A lot of days I want to quit. I want to give up. I want to quit risking, quit loving people, quit fighting the good fight, quit running the race and keeping the faith. I want to quit believing that God’s goodness prevails even in the dark hour in which we live. I want to settle for a happy little life off the grid. I want to desire less and make life work on my own terms. But then the sun pierces the darkness yet again, and I’m reminded of a God who is filled with vibrant life and limitless joy.”
I included several quotes so that you can get a flavor of the book. If you liked what you read, I encourage you to pick it up. I know it has been a blessing to many young men.
Thanks for this review and insight. I've had it on my "to read" list for a while but haven't gotten to it. When I first read about it, my mind definitely went to Wild at Heart, and I wondered if this would be more of the same (which is great--I love that book!). I'm probably most prompted to read now because of your suggestion that a 20-something-year-old guys and those in recovery might get a lot from it. No, I'm not a guy or in recovery, and the 20-something ship sailed long ago. :) But I have a 21yo son in recovery. He's recently been reading (and enjoying) John Sowers' The Heroic Path: In Search of the Masculine Heart. I'll check out Becoming and King and give him a copy if I think he'll get something from it.