Never Enough:
How to Achieve Financial and Spiritual Breakthrough
 

By David Holdaway
Regal Books, 2000, 198 pages
Review by Stan Banker

My expectations going into David Holdaway's book were different than my actual experience reading his book. This is not to say I was disappointed, but only to say the author chose a different path than I expected in addressing financial and spiritual breakthrough. The book felt more like a theological treatise relating to one's concept of money than addressing practical financial ideas from a Christian perspective. However, he does an excellent job addressing many of the theological concepts and biblical teachings regarding money including its ownership, Old Testament teachings, New Testament teachings, and the understanding God's economy.

In his theological ideas, Holdaway maintains a fairly fundamentalist approach. Throughout the book he addresses topics relating to such themes as money and the anti-Christ, spiritual warfare, and end-time predictions. He also speaks about such topics as the evils of gambling, an issue on which I agree with him, but did not expect to be addressed in such a book.

Holdaway's ideas about the tithe, however, moved beyond the legalistic mandates often presented. As he stated it, "Everything we have belongs to God. Tithes and offering are given to acknowledge that we put God first, but if we spend the rest regardless of Him, then we contradict our very act of giving." He also discusses faith and prosperity teachings, genuinely wary of many of these teachings. Still, he does share that "over the years God has dealt with me and softened my attitude toward some of the faith and prosperity teachings and theology . . . (because) many of these ministries are at least trying to take Jesus' promises seriously and not ignore or explain them away.

This book, while not particularly helpful in specific areas of financial planning, does address the spiritual issues well. Though the language is non-inclusive and the theology conservative, Holdaway's book is a helpful addition to the writings concerning money and faith.


Stan Banker is pastor of Indianapolis First Friends Meeting and conducts workshops on Christian financial planning