Desiring God by John Piper

Week 7: Chapter 6 — Money: The Currency of Christian Hedonism

Read Chapter 6 of Desiring God. Key Scripture: Matthew 6:19–21, 24; Luke 12:15–21; 1 Timothy 6:6–10, 17–19.

Piper now enters the arena where our real priorities are most nakedly visible — our relationship with money — and argues that how we handle wealth is both a test and an expression of where our joy truly lies.

Discussion Questions

8 questions

1.Piper calls money "the currency of Christian Hedonism" — a paradoxical title. What does he mean? In what sense does money become a tool for joy rather than a competitor with it?

2.Jesus says in Matthew 6:21, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Piper takes this seriously as a diagnostic: our spending habits reveal our true values more accurately than our stated beliefs. Take a moment of honest self-reflection: what does your relationship with money say about where your joy actually lies?

3.Piper draws on the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:15–21) as a case study in what it looks like to find security and satisfaction in accumulation. What is the fool's specific error, and how does Piper use him to illustrate the spiritual danger of wealth?

4.Piper argues that the antidote to greed is not merely generosity (as a discipline) but a deep, prior satisfaction in God that makes accumulation feel unnecessary. Generosity flows from fullness, not self-denial for its own sake. How does this differ from the way generosity is often taught in the church?

5.1 Timothy 6:6 says "godliness with contentment is great gain." Piper develops contentment as a form of radical counter-cultural joy — a declaration that God is enough. In a consumer culture built on the promise that more is always better, what does genuine contentment look like, and how is it cultivated?

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Closing Prayer

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Lord Jesus, you told us we cannot serve both God and money — and yet we try, endlessly. We confess that we have looked to wealth for the security, satisfaction, and freedom that only you can provide. Forgive us for being rich toward ourselves and poor toward you and others. By the Spirit's power, make us like that man in the parable who found the treasure hidden in the field — so full of joy that we gladly sell everything else to have what we've found. Let our wallets and bank accounts become visible testimonies that you are our treasure. Amen.

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