News. Politics. Podcasts. YouTube. Sports. Instagram. We are consumed by an addictive stream of endless information. In this post–truth informational age, we need wisdom. Brett McCracken helps us in The Wisdom Pyramid: Feeding Your Soul in a Post-Truth World. McCracken borrows the idea of the “food pyramid” for healthy eating. Just as we should manage our food intake, so we should also be disciplined in our information intake. McCracken teaches us to rank information, so that we will learn to foster spiritual health. McCracken rightly puts the Bible as the foundation of the pyramid. We need a steady diet of the Word. The internet and social media are the tip of the pyramid. We should consume these sparingly. Also on the pyramid are ideas about church, nature, books, and beauty.
The book is divided into two sections. Part 1 is our diagnosis. Specifically, McCracken identifies three problems: (1) information gluttony; (2) the perpetual search for novelty; (3) consuming things too fast. Part 2 addresses six sources of wisdom, namely, the Bible, church, nature, books, beauty, and the internet.
The Wisdom Pyramid is a timely call for wisdom that comes from the fear of the Lord. He writes in order to push us towards Christ. It serves as a creative introduction to wise living in a media-saturated world. It would work well in high school or young adult small groups or in a personal discipleship setting. Each chapter could be a book. Readers who want more could also look to books such as Words of Life (Bible), Digital Minimalism (internet), Compelling Community (church), Adorning the Dark (nature), On Reading Well (books), Jonathan Edwards on Beauty (beauty).
McCracken shows that the quality of our content matters. The information we take in everyday will either leave us healthy or malnourished. Because this book is so new, I hoped he would have addressed more of how to cultivate this kind of healthy living during a pandemic. Nevertheless, it is helpful because it pushes us to feed our souls on Jesus– the Bread of Life.
Ashley Baker 