Don't Waste Your Life - Part 1

Here is my second book of the semester that I wrote a book review of for class.  Again, it is quite a long review, so this is only Part 1 of the book review of Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper.

One of the greatest tragedies among Christians in America today is that many of their lives have been wasted. They have lived the “American Dream” and have forgotten the true mission that every Christian has been given, to glorify God. John Piper deals with this issue in his book, Don’t Waste Your Life. Upon reflection of his life, Piper realized that he had wasted many years, but through the teaching of his professors and the great writers of the past, such as C. S. Lewis and Jonathan Edwards, Piper found himself heading in a new direction. It was not an overnight transformation where he went to sleep wasting his life and woke up with his mind set on nothing but the glory of God. He realized that each major chapter of his life brought him closer to the realization of his wasted life and the need to live for the one single passion every Christian has been called to, to glorify God.


For Piper, it all came together when he realized that glorifying God did not mean sacrificing personal happiness. He says, “but now here was the greatest mind of early America, Jonathan Edwards, saying that God’s purpose for my life was that I have a passion for God’s glory and that I have a passion for my joy in that glory, and that these two are one passion” (31). Like Piper, many people might realize that living life to glorify God requires significant sacrifice. In thinking about sacrifice, they draw up all the negative connotations that go along with that word and conclude that they cannot live a happy, joy-filled life. Piper uses Don’t Waste Your Life to show how Christians can live to glorify God in their current situations.

God places people in jobs and environments for a reason. Piper argues that even in a typical “8 to 5” secular job, Christians can still point to and glorify God. In fact, that is what they are called to do. God’s mission for His children is to spread His name to all the nations. Therefore, each person has the responsibility to do that in the environment in which they have been placed. To do so, they must first realize what the purpose of their life is. They must come to the point in their life where they realize that a life not lived to glorify God is a life wasted. If they are not boasting in the cross and glorifying God through all situations in life (whether good or bad), then they are living a wasted life. How can someone sit on the sideline of the Christian faith living the “American Dream” and not consider the great task God has set before them?

Piper charges his readers with clinging to the cross, enduring the hard times that might arise, and taking risks in life. Ultimately, it is a great risk in this world to become a Christian. Spiritually, this is the greatest situation someone could make, for the reward is magnificent. In the world’s eyes, however, becoming a Christian is looked down upon. In fact, in many parts of the world making that decision could lead to straight to death. From the great examples from Scripture (David, Esther, Paul, and others), however, Piper concludes that taking the risk to live for God is worth it. If death comes from proclaiming God’s name, then God is still glorified and heaven is the reward for the martyr. How much better could it get? Truly, “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Don’t Waste Your Life challenges readers to really think about their current situation, considering if they are wasting their life or using it to glorify God. It offers practical information on how they can boldly live for Christ in the workplace and in their part of the world while offering great Scriptural support for what a God-glorifying life looks like. It also offers encouragement for readers who might find themselves in the midst of suffering, charging them to hold fast to Christ and consider the rewards. God will not be glorified in all the nations if His children do not have the passion and drive to go out and share the Gospel with them.

Matt