Don’t Waste Your Life

A few days ago I finished the book “Don’t Waste Your Life” by John Piper. I know many of you have read this book, but I wanted to take a moment for those of you who haven’t to encourage you to read it. I was most impacted by Piper’s imagery that we must live our lives with a wartime mentality. I also love Piper’s views on the joy and satisfaction we must find in Christ and how this joy allows us to magnify God, even in the grips of suffering and death. I’ll end with a few of my favorite (and most convicting) quotes. You can order the book from Amazon by clicking on the picture or title above:

“If we try to display the excellence of God without joy in it, we will display a shell of hypocrisy and create scorn and legalism.” (P.31)

“The people that make a durable difference in the world are not the people who have mastered many things, but who have been mastered by one great thing.” (P.44)

“If you love for men to make much of you, you will feel shame when they don’t. But if you love for men to make much of Christ, then you will feel shame if he is belittled on your account.” (P.65)

“The world is not impressed when Christians get rich and say thanks to God. They are impressed when God is so satisfying that we give our riches away for Christ’s sake and count it gain.” (P.72)

“Avoiding fearful trouble and forbidden behaviors impresses almost no one. The avoidance ethic by itself is not Christ-commending or God-glorifying.” (P.118)

“The greater problem is banality. A mind fed daily on TV diminishes. Your mind was made to know and love God. Its facility for this great calling is ruined by excessive TV. The content is so trivial and so shallow that the capcity of the mind to think worthy thoughts withers, and the capacity of the heart to feel deep emotions shrivels.” (P.120)