Don't Waste Your Life

John Piper says that tragedy is when an couple retires to sail their 30 foot sloop, play softball, and collect shells on the beach. That's a tragedy because they have wasted their life. In Don't Waste Your Life, Piper begs us to seek better things.

Whatever you do, find the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion of your life, and find your way to say it and live for it and die for it. And you will make a difference that lasts. You will not waste your life.

I know what I am passionate about. Since I was thirteen, I have been actively probing the edges of what humans can know--doing my first science project on relativity, taking nuclear physics in high school, diving into philosophy in college. I can't say that it has been a God-centered or Christ-exalting or Bible-saturated passion--much of it has been driven by my human cravings. I want people to be impressed at my knowledge or intelligence.

I know now that I felt rejected and self-pity tempted me to seek and show off knowledge. My heart said, "Someday they will see that I was right!" It took me a long time to realize how misguided that conviction was--there is a Day coming when every eye will see Jesus.

Any God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion will triumph on that Day.