Piper then sets out to defend this thesis in the following chapters: The Foundation of Christian Hedonism Conversion Worship Love Scripture Prayer Money Marriage Missions and Suffering.īy far, I believe the two most powerful chapters are the last two: missions and suffering. But now it started to dawn on me that this persistent and undeniable yearning for happiness was not to be suppressed, but to be glutted-on God! The growing conviction that praise should be motivated solely by the happiness we find in God seemed less and less strange (Piper, 21).ĭr. Perhaps I can illustrate this with a quotation:Īll those years I had been trying to suppress my tremendous longing for happiness so I could honestly praise God out of some “higher,” less selfish motive.
But he says that there is a better way: happiness. This denial makes us sometimes begrudgingly worship and do moral things to appease God. Therefore, Christian Hedonism (remember: the pursuit of pleasure) is doing things simply because you have the pleasure of giving God glory. The thought here is that sometimes Christians are inundated with denial. Piper sets up his thesis by quoting the famous Westminster Catechism phrase, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” He says that enjoying Him and giving Him glory are the same thing.
Hedonism defined means “the pursuit of pleasure sensual self-indulgence.” But to the Christian Hedonist, joy is a result of giving God glory. Joy is a consistent theme for the Christian Hedonist.
This is antithetical to Christian Hedonism: our desire to glorify God, according to Piper, stems from the joy we find in Him. I think it is easy for us, as Evangelical Christians, to recite a prayer and believe that we have come to a type of saving faith. In essence, Desiring God is about being satisfied in God making God our treasure.
The motto of John Piper’s ministry could be “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” This is his definition of Christian hedonism.
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