“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Ephesians 5:15‐17, NASB

Statistics show that the majority of Christians in America barely give 3% of their incomes to their churches. And, hardly 5% of American Christians give a tithe (full 10%). Obviously our possessions have a greater tug on our hearts than the Lord. Larry Burkett once said, “The Christian world is no different from the secular world when it comes to debt, bankruptcy, and divorce because priorities are misplaced.”

This post is a challenge for us all to make God supreme in our lives, our giving, and our relationships with others.

The Challenge

“So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”
Psalm 90:12, NASB

I just finished reading the book Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper 1. My life has been changed. Perhaps reading the following quotes will impact you and encourage you to read his book, too.

  • “This was the great coming together for me–the breakthrough. What was life about? What was it for? Why do I exist? Why am I here? To be happy? Or to glorify God?” (p.31)
  • “The wasted life is the life without a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples.” (p.31)
  • “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” (p.49)
  • “If we look like our lives are devoted to getting and maintaining things, we will look like the world, and that will not make Christ look great…He will not look like an all‐satisfying treasure.” (p.108)
  • “I am wired by nature to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to fit in. I start to love what others love. I start to call earth ‘home’. Before you know it, I am calling luxuries ‘needs’ and using my money just the way unbelievers do.” (p.112)
  • Quoting J. Campell White: “Fame, pleasure, and riches are but husks and ashes in contrast with the boundless and abiding joy of working with God for the fulfillment of his eternal plans. The men who are putting everything into Christ’s undertaking are getting out of life its sweetest and most priceless rewards.” (p.170)
  • “The effort to evangelize the world presents the speediest and surest methods of saving the Church. Our material resources are so stupendous that we are in danger of coming to trust in riches rather than in God.” (p.171)
  • “O Father, grant your church to love your glory more than gold–to cease her love affair with comfort and security. Grant that we seek the Kingdom first…Help us to see that if we try to guard our wealth, instead of using it to show it’s not our god, then we will waste our lives, however we succeed.” (p. 188)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to align our focus with the mission we have on this earth. We are in the middle of a spiritual battle, with the lives of non‐Believers on the line for eternity! Too many of us are coasting along, and as John Piper puts it, “treating Jesus like a helpful add‐on, but not as an all‐satisfying, all‐authoritative King…”

Too many of us have our focus on the things of this world, things that the enemy has promised will give us great fulfillment. God’s Word gives us another picture. Let’s dig a little deeper and see the Truth of the matter.

Digging Deeper

Spend some time checking your heart in the following areas. I pray we will all truly grasp the urgency that Christ puts on these topics, and that we will re‐adjust our lives in any areas that are not fully glorifying Him.

  • Missions mindset – Mark 8:34‐35, Acts 2:44‐47
  • Money/greed – Luke 12:15, Luke 12:21‐28, 1 Timothy 6:10
  • Faithful & cheerful giving – 2 Chron. 31:12, 2 Corinthians 9:6‐7, Luke 12:33‐34

1 Don’t Waste Your Life written by John Piper and published by Crossway Books in 2003.

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