Desiring God by John Piper

Week 4: Chapter 3 — Love: The Labor of Christian Hedonism

Read Chapter 3 of Desiring God. Key Scripture: Matthew 22:37–39; 2 Corinthians 9:7; Philippians 2:3–4.

Piper now tests his thesis against the most demanding ethical command — love your neighbor — and argues that even love for others must flow from joy, not obligation.

Discussion Questions

8 questions

1.The title of this chapter calls love "the labor of Christian Hedonism." What does Piper mean by the word "labor" here? How can something that is joyful also be laborious?

2.Piper confronts a natural objection: Isn't true love for others selfless? Doesn't it require setting aside our own desire for joy? His answer is surprising — he argues that the most loving act we can do for another person is to overflow with joy in God. Explain this in your own words. Do you find it convincing?

3.Piper points to 2 Corinthians 9:7 — "God loves a cheerful giver" — as evidence that the *manner* of giving matters, not just the act. A grudging act of service does not fully glorify God, even if it meets someone's need. How does this apply to the way you serve others in your own life?

4.Piper engages with Immanuel Kant's ethic, which holds that an act is only truly moral if it is done purely from duty, with no element of personal desire or reward. Piper argues this is actually a recipe for loveless virtue. Do you agree that motive matters, or does it seem like splitting hairs?

5.Piper makes the striking claim that we cannot truly love others as we ought unless we are first delighting in God. Joy in God produces overflowing love; spiritual emptiness produces grudging duty. Where do you see evidence for or against this pattern in your own relationships?

+ 5 more questions in this week

Get all 104 questions across 13 weeks

Get Full Guide — $24.99

Closing Prayer

Full guide

Father, we confess that much of what we call love is actually duty in disguise — service rendered to manage guilt or earn approval rather than an overflow of delight in you. Thank you that Jesus himself loved us not with grim obligation but with a joy set before him. Fill us with that joy — a deep, God-rooted gladness that has so much to give it cannot help but give. Make us cheerful givers, glad servants, people whose love for others is the unmistakable overflow of satisfaction in you. Amen.

Week 3 View Full Guide Week 5

Get the Complete 13-Week Study Guide

All 104 discussion questions, weekly reading schedule, closing prayers, and a downloadable PDF for your group.

Get Your Guide — $24.99

All Weeks in This Guide

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13

More by John Piper Faith & Theology Spiritual Growth & Disciplines