Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper overturns worldly expectations of success. Failure or success in life is not measured by material possessions, long life, or your job but by pleasing God.
To live life well, we must please God.
At first glance, “Don’t waste your life!” sounds like a fairly straightforward declaration. A statement seemingly directed toward those considered irresponsible. Presumably, those within the spheres of drug addiction, alcoholism, and depression are living a wasteful life. But is that what defines a wasteful life?
Someone might be very successful at what they do, have a good social life, and still live a wasteful life. So with this shocking revelation of what could be a wasteful life, we’ll need to look beyond our personal goals, aspirations, our weaknesses, and our achievements. It goes beyond all of those things. The issue of whether we can avoid living a wasteful life is contingent on our position with the One who knows it all – God.
In this summary, you will learn:
- what it means to live a wasteful life by God’s standard;
- how to redirect your focus and make the most of life; and
- how God’s love helps you realize life’s possibilities.
We must acknowledge and share God’s love rather than chase material possessions.
God has an unfathomable love for humans. God’s love for us cannot be explained. By creating the universe and us, He has already proved that He’s far more significant than we think.
The depth of God’s love is what led Him to send His Son to die for us. His Son had to die a shameful death so that we could be redeemed from our sins.
One way to live a fulfilled life is by telling others how much God loves them. Humankind is off course regarding how they relate with their Maker. We cannot measure God’s love for us as His children. But this immense sacrifice means nothing if we fail to acknowledge that love.
It is important to God that we share the knowledge of His love and kindness with everyone. If we fail to tell others how God’s love can transform their lives by setting them free from every form of bondage, then we have failed in our duty to show love to others.
To put it a different way, a wasteful life is a life that has failed to demonstrate God’s love through sharing it.
Most people work hard because they want to acquire a lot. A renowned economist once noted that the needs of a person are insatiable. No matter how much you get today, you will still want more tomorrow.
It is an obsession that never ends. It is the program of nature.
We falter as humans with that wrong perspective. Our hard work is mostly tied to the desire for material things. You will never become the person God wants you to be when you strictly focus on how you can enrich yourself with material things.
God wants us as His children to pay little attention to such life pursuits.
In Matthew 6:31-32, Christ warned us against materialism and promised us God’s provision: “Therefore, do not worry saying ‘what shall we eat?’ or ‘what shall we drink?’ or ‘what shall we wear?’ For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need such things.”
This Scripture clearly puts a full stop to the time we dedicate to pursuing material things rather than seeking the Lord Himself. If we want to ensure we are living a life that is not wasteful, then we must be on the same page with the Lord in regard to possessions.
The pursuit of material things can be compared to chasing shadows. But our pursuit of the kingdom of God and His righteousness will provide us with an everlasting crown.
We’ve got just one life to live.
As sojourners here on earth, we have just one life to live. Only one chance to get it right. If life were a deck of cards, then we would each have just one card to play. What we do with our life matters a lot to God.
This is why He sent His Son to our rescue.
But are we living our lives like we’ve got just one life to live? The answer to that question is a clear no! Instead, we are so caught up in a selfish web that we hardly realize we are a million miles away from where God wants us to be.
Making the most of your life means doing exactly what God wants us to do. Anything outside of that would be living a wasted life.
God expects us to take advantage of the knowledge of His Son as we journey to our various destinations. By learning to rely only on God’s knowledge and His power, we learn to rely less on our understanding and limited capabilities.
We have failed to find happiness in the most pleasant of places. We have done a lot of damage to our soul here on earth because we are not doing enough to get our lives aligned with God’s original plan.
The knowledge that we have just one life to live is all we need to ensure that we are working according to His plan and purpose for our lives. Our eternity is determined by what we do with our one life.
We can avoid a wasteful life by incorporating God’s love as part of our lifestyle. That is what frees us from the bondage of self, as well as opens up new opportunities to admire and enjoy the glory of the Father forever and ever.
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