Wise Words from Piper

Back when I was a corporate working woman I had a boss, Bill, who loved to read books about leadership. He was a big fan of inspirational quotes and would e-mail out a 'quote a day' daily. This was back in 1997 when no one had blogs and people still faxed cartoons/jokes to each other. (Anybody remember those days?) No one had junk or spam folders because that was not yet necessary. The misuse of mass e-mail had not yet taken over, so a quote of the day e-mail actually garnered attention back then.

As in sit in my home office tonight, the large bulletin board over my right shoulder still bears some of the quotes I saved from Bill. There are some great ones that I hold dear, but the greatest gift Bill gave me during the time he was my manager was an appreciation for the written words of wisdom left by those who have gone before me.

I have a voracious appetite for the life lessons others have taken the time to leave behind and am inspired by them to do the same. God is the same yesterday, today and forever--but the way He shows Himself in our lives is magnificently different. I love seeing Him from various perspectives.

I am also aware that we, as humans, tend to get a bit distracted. Most of us miss most of what He is up to. I find that by 'comparing notes' with others' experiences I get a better perspective of Him. To that end, I really loved this post from John Piper that I stumbled across today. It was a list his father made of the 15 significant lessons he had learned in his lifetime accompanied by John's comments under each item. They are all great, but these three really stood out to me:

7. It is a sin to do less than your best. It is wrong to do [merely] well.

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10 ). But be careful. Sometimes the “best” is a B+ sermon and spending time with your child. In other words, “best” always involves more decisions than the one you are making at the moment. That one means many other things are being left undone. So “best” is always the whole thing, not just the detail of the moment.

Wow! I am committed to doing well most of the time, but my absolute best, every time. I certainly cannot claim that.

What impressed me the most about this point was his assertion that "best always involves more decisions than the one you are making at the moment" and that it "is always the whole thing, not just the detail of the moment." That is definitely food for thought.

11. Anything you do that hinders your progress for God is wrong.

O how thankful I am that this was the dominant way my father pressed me to pursue my sanctification. He did not mainly impose lists of don’ts on me, though we had them. And they were clear. Mainly he said: Maximize your progress in knowing and serving God. That ruled out a hundred foolish behaviors, some bad and some uselessly innocent.

Read those last two lines again.

I have to admit that this is where I often get stuck. Much of my foolish behavior is not 'bad' as much as it is 'uselessly innocent.' I have a ridiculous interest in celebrity gossip. It is silly and superficial and based largely in two things: 1) My desire to mindlessly escape into a world that is very foreign from mine and 2) A way to justify the sin of gossip...I don't know those people after all.

But something that started as 'uselessly innocent' leaves me feeling superior, judgmental or dirty...depending on how outlandish the gossip is...and the fact of the matter is, it is a waste of time. There are lots of other ways to blow off steam that would leave me in a better place.

13. It isn’t enough to be good. Be good for something. The essence of Christianity is not a passionless purity.

This is what I have meant in talking about a merely avoidance ethic. Don’t just think of righteousness or holiness in terms of what you avoid, but what you do. As my father said in another place: Don’t be a don’ter; be a doer.

I loved this one! We were all wired and gifted differently. God's plans for us are all unique...but He does have plans. I, with Piper, doubt that they are just for us to be against things. Let's concentrate on what we are for: peace, love, mercy, hope, joy...

I love the reminder that God's plans are not for us to sit around pure and passionless. Let's be world changers. Yes, we are spouses and parents...but what if instead of allowing that to be an excuse, we were to use it as a catalyst compelling us to be world changers that are raising world changers. The best way to do that is to model it!

If you aren't familiar with Piper you might be turned off by his strong language. I find it refreshing in a world full of voices that try to help us rationalize things and see little as black and white and most everything as gray. I am certainly challenged by his words and plan to spend some time praying about what this should look like in my life.