Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society
Timothy D. Willard and Jason Locy
Zondervan, 2011, 256 pp., $17.99, Zondervan.com
Biblical community can be very uncomfortable for the person who doesn’t want to be transparent and vulnerable. Willard and Locy tell us about the dangers for Christians who prefer the comfort of a falsely engineered, veneer personality.
The authors first compare the difference in beauty and value between actual wood flooring crafted by the hands of artisans and engineered flooring (found at home décor super stores) that has only a thin veneered top layer to give the appearance of actual wood.
Willard and Locy tell us that people have a similar proclivity to “hide our brokenness,” because we are “embarrassed by the scars of our humanity…we use a veneer to cover ourselves, hoping others will perceive us as having greater worth, as being more beautiful and perfect than we are inside.” Veneer asks why we do this and provides a beautiful picture of a relationship with God that precludes the need for an exhausting facade.
It may not be the most profound book you’ll ever read, but it effectively tackles society’s pervasive issues with superficiality. If you’re looking for a book about following Christ in the midst of a consumer culture obsessed with the appearance of success and happiness, then this one absolutely was made for you.
