Don't Waste Your Life (Paperback)

Piper is a prodigious Christian writer who has authored more than twenty books. He pastors Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. I have read several of his books, and he continually offers solid, refreshing Christian teaching.

In Don't Waste Your Life, Piper tells the reader about his personal discovery of the single passion worth pursuing in life. He writes, "It was not always plain to me that pursuing God's glory would be virtually the same as pursuing my joy. Now I see that millions of people waste their lives because they think these paths are two and not one."

He describes a typical married couple working through life to accumulate wealth so that they can retire and leisurely collect seashells in Florida. He calls this course of life a waste. Any life that treasures anything above Christ is a tragedy, writes Piper.

According to Piper, we were created for more than merely providing for a family and trying to live a good life. For Christians, Piper writes of a cause that is paramount to all others.

He encourages us to consider the cause of Christ, the greatest king who ever lived. He writes, "The greatest cause in the world is joyfully rescuing people from hell, meeting their earthly needs, making them glad in God, and doing it with a kind, serious pleasure that makes Christ look like the treasure he is."

Piper avoids rules, formulas and steps to living a fruitful live. He proposes becoming single-minded in possessing a passion for Christ and for glorifying him above all else in our lives. As we do this continually, we are sure to live satisfying, fruitful lives, says Piper.

Piper accomplishes more than covering the basics of living the Christian life. Using personal stories, quotes from other writers, and many scriptures, he emphasizes the values of Christ and his calling upon our lives.

Piper summarizes his view of Christ's calling upon our lives, "God seldom calls us to an easier life, but always calls us to know more of him and drink more deeply of his sustaining grace."

The book consists of ten chapters with each chapter having several sections. A theme that runs through the book is the virtue of taking risks in life for the glory of Christ. Piper emphasizes courage as characteristic to the Christian-courage to take steps of faith, to risk losing life to gain glory for the name of Jesus.

He writes, "There can be no weary resignation, no cowardly retreat, and no merciless contentment among Christ's people while he is disowned among thousands of unreached peoples."

Piper calls Christians to arms in a battle that we can join no matter who we are or where we are. We can advance Christ's kingdom in the workplace or on the missions field. If we become passionate about living for Him, we will experience his passionate joy and avoid wasting our lives.

Don't Waste Your Life succeeds in creating passion and purpose in the reader. Piper concludes the book with a prayer that will help the reader communicate the desires of his or her heart to God.

The heartbeat of this book, and this man, is not to waste your life. You have one life to enjoy God and invite others to be glad in Him. Lay aside every encumbrance that you might win the prize, the upward call of Jesus Christ.

Specifically, this book aims to convince you that there is ONE thing in life worth pursuing, ONE thing in life worth giving everything for, ONE thing in life worth radically pursuing, and that is, the glory of God. Piper has, in other books, argued for this very thing. But I get the sense in this book that he is desperately pleading with this generation to throw away mediocrity and to be devoted wholly and completely to the Treasure of the universe, and that anything short of a total sell-out to Him will result in our saying in the end, "I've wasted my life!" He is urgent. This is a dangerous book that, if read carefully, will cause you to rethink and reshape not only what you're basing your life upon, but challening you to build what will last on it.

Written with a popular audience in mind, Piper sums up many of his other great books in a clear, passionate cry to be most satisfied in God, whether you're a missionary or a mail man. How can you, whoever you are and whatever you do, gladly make others glad in God? This book seeks to answer that question and urges you to take whatever steps necessary to secure your happiness in Him. I highly recommend it.