Life on Purpose | Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
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Have you ever read a book that just sort of slapped you in the face? That said “Hey! Wake up!” If not, then you’ve never read Don’t Waste Your Life.
Piper has long been one of my favorite authors and speakers. From the first word he speaks, you can hear his passion and zeal for the Gospel. And this book is no exception. For about the first third of the book, he really paints a picture of the glory of God. In and out of those first chapters he relates back to the main point of the book which is, as you may have guessed it, not wasting your life, but he really spends a lot of time emphasizing to the reader that Christ is all-powerful, all-sufficient, and worthy of all praise. By the time you get to about the second third of the book, you start to work your way into the more practical aspects of the book — the parts that answer the question “How do I not waste my life?”
This book opens with Piper recounting a particular moment he witnessed as a child while his father, also a pastor, was counseling a congregation member, and ultimately leading him to Christ. I won’t spoil the middle parts for you, but this particular interaction ends with the same man crying out “I’ve wasted it!” speaking of course about his own life. The journey that Piper takes us on is all centered around this story. As we get into the meat of the book, the latter two-thirds, Piper spends time telling us what you can do to not feel like you’ve wasted your life. In this section, you’ll find his sage advice on how to live a Christ-exalting life in your workplace, how to “make others glad in God”, and proving that God is more precious than our own safety and well-being.
Here you’ll also encounter several really powerful stories of the work of God in lives not wasted, as well as one particular critique that has prompted some pretty funny comments and even a Babylon Bee article about how John Piper hates seashells.
Overall, this book is definitely in my top 25. My read through this time was actually my second dive into the warm and inviting but wildly convicting book by John Piper. But with each read, you’re sure to uncover some new little nuggets that you hadn’t before. Although it’s a relatively short book, it can be a bit of a longer read because it does get kind of intense. You need to make sure you come prepared to pay attention when you start reading, or you will get left behind. But if you’re a strong reader, and sifting through the very verbose descriptions of God’s glory come easily to you, you’ll be fine. Either way, I highly recommend that everyone read this book at least once. You’re almost certain to find some encouragement or conviction somewhere within its pages, neither of which is a bad thing!
For me personally, this book has been pretty instrumental in waking me up to the beauty of the Gospel, the tremendous privilege it for believers to get to share it, and how I can be more intentional about sharing it in every aspect of my life.
The first time I read it was about a year ago. Then, it was a great wakeup call about the depth of the things I found myself involved in. Sure, I pushed a lot of buttons and did a lot of things at church, but I never really saw the depth of them. I never really saw any beauty in doing those things as a means of sharing the Gospel.
This time, as I read through it, I had a completely different context — that of someone recently saved. As beautiful as the Gospel had seemed to me before, it was so much more so this time around. I finally understood it on a much more personal level. In that light, it’s been just the “boost” I needed at this moment in my life. With a job, a (big) family, another baby on the way, various positions at church, and this whole blogging/author thing I’ve found myself a part of, it’s easy to get distracted, discouraged, and disheartened. It’s easy to lose sight of why I’m doing all of this. But this book does a great job of stoking those flames and getting you excited to do something with the life God has given you.
So why this book? Well, as you may recall, Cameron laid out the word for the year - Impact. So the books we’re reviewing this year will live somewhere in that vein. Books that can help you improve your impact. Whether that be spiritually or practically. In this case, the truths that Piper dishes out are, to many, a wakeup call to stop wasting time or more bluntly, your life, and apply your talents, your resources, your abilities — all of who you are, to the advancement of the Gospel. And what better way is there than that to make an impact in 2020?
