The first question in the Westminster Confession of Faith is, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. But if asked, John Piper would slightly modify the answer and say, “the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.” This little clarification is the central theme of Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist.
About the author
“John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the author of more than 50 books, and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free of charge at desiringGod.org.”
About the book
Desiring God is about the noble and mysterious art of Christian Hedonism. Piper defines it as, “the conviction that God’s ultimate goal in the world (his glory) and our deepest desire (to be happy) are one and the same, because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” In this book, Piper explains in detail what Christian Hedonism is, what the Bible says about it, and how we can become Christian hedonists.
Piper wrote this book for several reasons, all of which he mentioned in the epilogue. But his primary purpose was to convert believers to Christian hedonism because it is a biblical mandate, not an option. God wants all His children to enjoy Him.
Piper presented his arguments for Christian hedonism by showing how it impacts the happiness of God, conversion, worship, love, Scripture, prayer, money, marriage, missions, and suffering. The book also has appendixes with further information for a deeper understanding of Christian Hedonism.
For instance, “Why call it Christian Hedonism,” “Is the Bible a reliable guide to Lasting Joy?” and more. (The revised edition does not have all the appendices, the hardcover reference edition does.)
My thoughts
Desiring God was well written. Piper explained in great detail the concept of Christian hedonism and provided several analogies and examples to further our understanding. He based all his arguments from the Holy Scriptures and demonstrated that prioritizing our joy is God’s idea. Piper also included several quotes from influential figures in church history, which proved Christian hedonism has been prevalent throughout historical Christianity.
If I had to use one word to summarize Desiring God, I would say thought-provoking. This book is a game-changer; it will challenge your theology, and flip your world upside down. Piper proposes a way of life that emphasizes our joy and condemns doing spiritual disciplines only out of duty.
At first glance, this way of life seems to encourage us to be self-centered and place our interests above everything else. It even seems to go against the Bible, which says, to deny ourselves and carry our cross. How can my service be dismissed simply because I didn’t enjoy doing it? But Piper, heavily armed with Scriptures, fought every objection to Christian Hedonism and showed why joy is necessary for all things.
Several of the concepts of this book were at odds with what I previously learned, and challenged me. For instance, in the chapter about prayer, when Piper said we glorify God not by serving Him, but by being served by Him, I just about lost my mind. I have heard several times that God doesn’t exist to serve us, but we exist to serve Him. Piper not only refuted that but even said that serving God might be an insult to Him.
He dropped several other truth bombs in the book that had my head spinning. But He always backed it up with Scriptures.
Besides challenging my theology, Desiring God also inspired me. I particularly appreciated the chapter on suffering, which he added in the revised edition. The concept of joy and pain is a difficult one to grasp, and Piper beautifully explained what it means to rejoice in suffering. He used several examples of people who suffered for Christ, such as the apostles, the early church fathers, and missionaries, etc. to illustrate how joy and suffering go together.
My recommendation
Overall, Desiring God is a pretty neat book. It reminded me that God does not want us to be miserable. He wants us to rejoice in Him always and in everything we do. Not only does our joy pleases Him, but it glorifies Him. And to bring Him glory is our ultimate purpose.
I recommend the book to all Christians. It will most likely shatter some of your beliefs and mess up with your theology. But that’s good. Many of us have beliefs we hold dear that has no basis on Scriptures. We need more books like this to help us break free, change our perspective, and make us think biblically for the glory of God.
Favorite Quotes
The climax of God’s happiness is the delight He takes in the echoes of His excellence in the praises of His people.
Chapter 1: The Happiness of God: Foundation for Christian Hedonism
We praise what we enjoy because the delight is incomplete until it is expressed in praise. If we were not allowed to speak of what we value and celebrate what we love and praise what we admire, our joy would not be full.
Chapter 1: The Happiness of God: Foundation for Christian Hedonism
For God, praise is the sweet echo of His own excellence in the hearts of His people. For us, praise is the summit of satisfaction that comes from living in fellowship with God.
Chapter 2: Conversion: The Creation of a Christian Hedonist
We strive against God’s all-sufficient glory if we think we can become a means to His end without making joy in Him our end.
Chapter 3: Worship: The Feast of Christian Hedonism
True worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship.
Chapter 3: Worship: The Feast of Christian Hedonism
Let us labor to memorize the Word of God —for worship and for warfare. If we do not carry it in our heads, we cannot savor it in our hands or wield it in the Spirit.
Chapter 5: Scripture: Kindling for Christian Hedonism
The most precious truth in the Bible is that God’s greatest interest is to glorify the wealth of His grace by making sinners happy in Him.
Chapter 6: Prayer: The Power of Christian Hedonism
Prayer is the antidote for the disease of self-confidence which opposes God’s glory by working for those who wait for Him.
Chapter 6: Prayer: The Power of Christian Hedonism
We will not serve God by trying to put our power at His disposal for His good, but by doing what is necessary so that His power will ever be at our disposal for our good.
Chapter 6: Prayer: The Power of Christian Hedonism
In all our obedience, it is we who are the beneficiaries. God is ever the Giver. For it is the Giver who gets glory.
Chapter 6: Prayer: The Power of Christian Hedonism
In the pursuit of joy through suffering, we magnify the all-satisfying worth of the Source of our joy. God Himself shines as the brightness at the end of our tunnel of pain. If we do not communicate that He is the goal and the ground of our joy in suffering, then the very meaning of our suffering will be lost.
Chapter 10: Suffering: The Sacrifice of Christian Hedonism
