Customer Reviews

When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

When the Game Is Over It All Goes Back in the Box is a book on life by John Ortberg, a Presbyterian pastor. His argument is thus: you will die, and when you do, you will lose all the stuff you have. Therefore, instead of focusing on things you cannot keep, focus on things you can.

Ortberg says that the object of life is, as Jesus said, to be rich toward God. Pleasing God is part of this; part of it is putting a greater priority on personal relationships. This also turns out to be the place where we find true fulfillment. Ortberg's main target is those who say they will work less and spend more time with their families "when things settle down." His message is this: things never settle down until it's too late.

The book is written with an amusing game theme. Ortberg borrows a lot of anecdotes from a lot of different authors, which is fine. He gives credit where credit is due. Ortberg has a surprisingly good sense of humor. Sometimes his jokes are pretty corny, but on the whole he seems like a funny guy. My only criticism of his writing is a small one: several chapters tend to run a little long (the reader has gotten the point and is ready to move on).

There is criticism due the publisher: on nearly every other page, there are excerpts from the text blown up in boxes on the same page. Perhaps this is done for those flipping through the book in a shop, or for those who skim, but for the actual reader, it is incredibly annoying and distracting.

On the whole, When the Game Is Over It All Goes Back in the Box is an accessible, engaging, humorous book on Christian living and eternity. This is obviously a Christian book, but the theologizing does not get heavy-handed, and Ortberg does not beat the reader over the head with the Bible. It can benefit any Christian as well as nonchristians who are feeling unfulfilled.

RECOMMENDED

This book both encouraged me and challenged me at the same time. I've actually bought 3 additional copies & given them to friends of mine!

John's style in this book is engaging, but also pushed me to think deeply about how I'm living. The stories he tells pull you in... and then cause you to reflect on how the topic might be playing out in your own life.

I also appreciate how it's more than "John's best thoughts on living" -- but it points back to Scripture time & again. And in doing so, often unveils a dimension of the Bible in a way I'd not considered before.

There were quite a few times I'd interrupt my wife while I was reading it, and say "you've gotta hear this section". Prompted some great discussion. Basically... I loved it.

When the Game Is Over It All Goes Back In The Box by John Ortberg is an inspiring, enlightening, life-changing book. Since I am an avid gamer, the cover art drew me in immediately. But it was the author's wit and practical advice that captured my attention and kept me reading. It begins with the greatest opening line since The Purpose Driven Life, and guides you through a series of strategies designed to teach the reader how to "play the game" of life.

Filled with wit and humor and moving stories, I laughed out loud one minute and found myself tearing up the next as a poignant illustration was presented to show how so many of us miss the important stuff by concentrating so intensely on temporary rewards. The author then offers practical tactics for modifying our "To Do" lists so we can reconnect with what's really important in life.

Not only did I take from this book several ideas for improving my life and relationship with God, but also the desire to make a difference in the lives of those around me as John Ortberg and his Grandmother obviously have.

John Ortberg is an engaging and entertaining writer with a message. He likens life to a game. When the game is over, all the pieces go back in the box (casket) and what truly matters is not what you've won playing the game, but how you play. You can't live life without focusing some on death. While the basis of the book can easily be summed up in the old adage of life is like a game and it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play, Ortberg gives fresh meaning to it based on scripture and Jesus' teaching. This is truly a thought-provoking book and one that needs to be read by all Christians.

This book reminds us of what we already know but continually forget-that there are things that matter, and things that don't matter, and we easily become confused about priorities. This book is a great read for any 20-something who is setting priorities for how they will live their life, and a must read for any 50-something who needs to be reminded to focus on what counts for those years that remain.

Five Stars!

I've never written a review of a book before....I couldn't help but write one for John Ortberg's "Back in the Box." I sat down at 2:30pm to start reading. After breaks for time with my son, time with my husband, time to fix dinner, time for TV, time for some housework, I STILL finished the book before going to bed at midnight. It was that level of "can't put it down." I'd finish a chapter, put it down to do something else, and be drawn right back to it as soon as I could get there. Fresh, humor-filled, real, thought-provoking, spirit-nudging, action-prodding. Highly recommend it for ANYone.

This book is remarkable. I usually have such troubles reading nonfiction books, but this one I couldn't put it down. John has such an incredible writing style of mixing everyday life with Bible truths. This book is what my husband and I really needed at this time of our lives. Reminding us what is truly important and what is unnecessary in life. I recommend this book to everyone.

Ortberg's latest book, It All Goes Back in the Box, is a welcome addition to my growing Ortberg library! In customary wit and style, Ortberg helps us push the "zoom out" button of our life and look at the big picture. With games as the metaphor, he invites us to look at every angle in the way we play our life. His stories are always poignant and I alternated between laughing and literally tearing up. I also felt convicted by his challenges to focus on what really matters in life: being rich towards God and people. And the chapter on "More is Never Enough" is worth the price of the book! Thank you John Ortberg!

John Ortberg, a well-known California pastor and bestselling author (THE LIFE YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED), knows how to captivate a reading audience, and he does it, page after page, in WHEN THE GAME IS OVER, IT ALL GOES BACK IN THE BOX. Using playing games as a metaphor for life, Ortberg shows how the object of the game is a life "rich toward God" --- growing a healthy soul, enjoying the people around you, doing good work, becoming generous and savoring the moment.

Wise people, writes Ortberg, build their lives around what is eternal. He suggests asking yourself the question, "What in your life is going to last forever, and what is going back in the box?" Spend your time caring for the inner you as well as the outer you. Think about the changes you need to make. Let go of wrong priorities. Quit trying to control that which is out of our control, rather than letting the "Master of the Board" take the helm.

What makes this book so brilliant is not that Ortberg offers a lot of new information. It's that he has a flair for synthesizing this information and organizing his ideas in a way that makes them practical as well as soul-stirring. It's also a joy to read.

Gently, in one section, he calls readers to reassess a preoccupation with "stuff" and concentrate on what is most important. A "richness of being" is always available, Ortberg says. "I can seek at any time, with God's help, to be compassionate, generous, grateful, and joyful...usually it will not mean seeking to accumulate more stuff." As he shows through a moving story about Larry, a church member who is killed in an accident, in the end it's not about our achievements or our wealth. It's about our capacity to love. It's the people, not the stuff, that we need to focus on.

Ortberg also reminds his readers that Christians have to be consistent in acting like Christians instead of labeling themselves as such. "The world gets pretty tired of people who have Christian bumper stickers on their cars, Christian fish signs on their trunks, Christian books on their shelves, Christian stations on their radios, Christian jewelry around their necks, Christian videos for their kids, and Christian magazines on their coffee tables but don't actually have the life of Jesus in their bones or the love of Jesus in their hearts." "Be the kind of player people want to sit next to," he urges, borrowing from a Monopoly analogy.

By turns humorous, painfully vulnerable, poignant and wise, Ortberg weaves biblical, personal and fictional anecdotes together with practical points in a compelling way for the reader. He includes insights from many excellent authors throughout, including Anne Lamott, Lewis Smedes, Susan Howatch, Viktor Frankl, Marjorie Rawlings and Thomas Lynch. Rather than getting in the way, these quotes and excerpts enrich the text.

One of Ortberg's passages that haunts me is this: "We need to ask ourselves what we are doing (or not doing) with our lives now that could lead to deep regret." He urges the practice of "regret prevention" --- assessing the commitments we have made in light of what we don't want to regret. Then, he asks us to consider what we need to rearrange. Don't wait for a crisis --- a child running away, getting fired, having a spouse file for divorce --- to force your hand, he urges. More will never be enough.

Although he uses the game metaphor throughout, Ortberg doesn't force it to get his ideas across. The narrative flows seamlessly. In places, Ortberg writes about spending time with your children, but this book is suitable for readers at any stage of life. My husband and I --- almost empty nesters --- are planning to read and discuss it together. It would be an excellent resource for personal reflection or small group study as well.

This is Ortberg writing at his best. But reader, be warned --- you'll come away changed.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

A fabulous book! Practical too! I laughed, cried, laughed some more...slept a little bit, stopped crying...chuckled. John Ortberg helps me... reminds me, what's important on this journey...or game, we call life, where to focus my energy, priorities. And the priorities are easy to remember...God, other people, my soul and deeds of love. The stories he tells through the book illustrate the point he's trying to make, I need illustrations! He affirmed some of the tough decisions I've made in life regarding my career, family, friends, reminding me of the eternal verses the temporal. Put down that 5 dysfunctions book and read something functional!