Nice: Why We Love to Be Liked and How God Calls Us to More - Softcover

Too often we think being a Christian means being nice--putting on an attractive exterior while inside our spirits flounder. We confuse pleasantness with goodness, sweetness with kindness, and likability with true character. We settle for this false virtue in ourselves and in others, more concerned with being liked than being obedient. As a result, we forfeit the fruits of real discipleship in our own lives. Even our witness in the world is damaged as we avoid sharing hard truths with others in favor of only putting forth positive messages that will keep others happy with us. In this life-changing book, Sharon Hodde Miller calls us to uproot the idols of acceptance, reputation, security, effectiveness, and idealism that keep us chasing after accolades from the world and cause us to bear the ugly fruits of falseness, self-righteousness, cowardice, corruption, and cynicism. Then she helps us prepare the soil of our hearts to bear good fruit so that we can be true followers of Jesus and witnesses to his power, love, and forgiveness to a hurting world.

"This book is challenging me and helping me to discover a truer way to live authentically free. Sharon is a refreshing voice full of truth and wisdom."--Lysa TerKeurst, #1 New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries

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God never called us to be nice.
 
Niceness. It keeps the peace, wins friends, gains influence, and serves our reputations well. It looks a lot like following Jesus, but it takes all the power and freedom out of our lives. In this eye-opening book, Sharon Hodde Miller shares her own battle with this false faith, confesses the bad fruit it produced in her life, and offers practical steps for cutting down the tree at its root.
 
With biblical wisdom, surprising insight, and deep conviction, this book will help you
 
· identify the most common forms of nice Christianity and how they manifest in your life
· stop being nice and start practicing true kindness, honesty, courage, and joy
· develop a deeper, sturdier faith that can withstand life's storms and even flourish in the middle of them

Take a stand, take back your faith, and follow the Savior who was kind, gentle, compassionate, patient, and good, but never simply nice.
Sharon Hodde Miller leads Bright City Church in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband, Ike. In addition to speaking all over the country and earning her PhD, she is the author of Free of Me: Why Life Is Better When It's Not about You. Sharon is a regular contributor to sites like She Reads Truth, Propel, and Christianity Today, and she has blogged at SheWorships.com for over ten years. When she is not leading, teaching, or writing, her favorite place to be is at home with her husband and three kids.