Why does Piper feel it is important to view life through a war-time lens?
What is it about comfort, security, and material prosperity that is so dangerous in the pursuit of a life not wasted?
What is the difference between merely avoiding sin and whole-heartedly treasuring Christ?
Why is treasuring Christ above all the preferred lifestyle? What about it will look radical in today’s world?
What is dangerous about the avoidance ethic which leads to a “good enough” mentality?
Why are we so prone to waste our lives on trivialities? Must Christianity really be so radical; must we pursue Christ so passionately?
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Lesson 7 – Distractions from Worship
Up to this point we have examined various aspects surround a life well lived on the level of the mind. The final three lessons are designed to put theory into practice for, “The mind is the servant of the heart. Knowledge exists for the sake of love. And all theology worth its salt produces doxology.”1
1. Review and synthesize the data from your inventory of time spent in the last week
1.1. What are the three most time consuming activities in your week?
1.2. What are the three most time consuming activities in your week that do not fit into categories 1-3?
2. Analyze the data.
2.1. How are you spending your time with people?
2.1.1. How do you typically spend time with family/friends?
2.1.1.1. Where does this occur, and what other activities are being done during this time?
2.1.1.2. Does the time tend to be more idle (no communication) or is it interactive?
2.1.1.3. When you communicate, what types of things do you find yourself talking about?
2.1.1.4. What do you know about your family/friends (e.g. their past, their passions, their strengths, weaknesses)?
2.1.2. Reflect upon the time you spend around unbelievers
2.1.2.1. Is this more or less time than the time you spend with believers?
2.1.2.2. Repeat the questions about the time spent with friends/family
2.1.2.3. How many of these unbelievers know your beliefs about Christ? How are you making Christ known to them? Have you directly shared the gospel with any of them? Have you invited any of them to church?
2.1.3. Reflect upon the time you spend alone
2.1.3.1. What types of things do you do without others?
2.1.3.2. What activities do you tend to do alone, but could be done with other people?
2.2. How does your use of time reflect your hope and your treasure?
2.2.1. Do you see places where you see your time and energies being spent most?
2.2.2. Read “Why Don’t People Ask Us About Our Hope?” on pages 108-109 in DWYL. What things in your life might your time log reveal to be the things you are hoping in?
2.2.2.1. How you would feel if you showed your time log to others (you may choose to share it with others in the group). Would there be any things on the chart that you would feel embarrassed about? If so, why?
2.2.2.2. Reflect also upon what you spend money on; what you get most excited about; what you feel most worried or disappointed about; where your thoughts dwell most
3. The root problem of the heart
3.1. Probably all of our time logs of the past week, if we are honest, show areas where we are indeed wasting our lives
3.2. Two dangers arise out of this recognition
3.2.1. We may try to muster up our own will power and thus change only the shell without getting at the heart
3.2.1.1. Consider the following comment that John Calvin makes on 1 Corinthians 8:1: "If riches naturally tend to make men proud, then a rich man, if proud, is free from blame, for the evil arises from riches."
3.2.1.2. The root problem for Calvin in pride is not riches, but the human heart. The same is true of how we are spending our time. The root problem is not what we do, but why we do what we do stemming from the perverted affections of our heart.
3.2.2. We may sink into despair that we are failing in the Christian life
3.2.2.1. This however is an inverted form of pride; it reveals a desire to look at our self as the basis of hope
3.2.2.2. Again the problem is at root a heart problem
3.3. Recognizing our falling short should cause us not to fall into one of these two errors, but it should cause us to look away from ourselves to Christ who has forgives sins by dying on the cross, who creates new hearts of flesh with new affections out of hearts that were once hearts of stones with no holy affections, and who strengthens us for lives of Christian love that bring glory to God
3.3.1. Close by encouraging one another with promises from Scripture that Christ will do these things for those who believe. Think of ways to continually encourage one another to look to Christ day by day.
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