10-Week Study & Discussion Guide

Don't Waste Your Life

by John Piper·71 discussion questions

Last updated August 16, 2026

Week 1 — FreeRead the Preface and Chapter 1 of Don't Waste Your Life. Key passages: Philippians 1:20–21; 3:7–8

Discussion question your group will work through:

1.Piper describes his younger self as someone who desperately wanted 'one passion' to give his life to, but struggled for years to identify what that was. Can you relate to that struggle? What has functioned as your defining passion up to this point?

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About This Study Guide

At a glance: this is a 10-week study and discussion guide for Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper, with 71 questions organized by reading assignment. Week 1 is free to read, with no card required.

Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper is a passionate, personal call to abandon the small, comfortable, self-centered existence that our culture quietly promotes — and to instead pour your one life into something worthy of the glory of God. Drawing on his own crisis of vocational calling in his early thirties, Piper argues that the greatest tragedy is not death, suffering, or poverty, but a wasted life: one spent accumulating comforts, avoiding risk, and missing the magnificent purpose for which we were made. The book's central thesis is that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him — and that a life built on that foundation will inevitably be a life of courageous, joyful sacrifice for the sake of Christ and the world.

This study guide is designed to take you through Don't Waste Your Life one chapter at a time, over ten weeks. Each week, read the assigned chapter before your group meets (or before your personal study time). Then work through the discussion questions, pausing to journal your honest responses before sharing with others. The questions are designed to move from understanding what Piper is arguing, to examining how his argument intersects with your own life, to reflecting on the theological convictions that make it all make sense. If you are using this guide in a group, resist the urge to rush — the most important questions are often the personal application ones that feel a little uncomfortable.

By the end of this guide, you will have wrestled seriously with what it means to live for something bigger than yourself, examined the subtle idols of safety and comfort that quietly drain life of its glory, and — prayerfully — emerged with a clearer sense of your unique calling to make much of God in your particular place and season of life. The goal is not guilt but freedom: the deep, soul-satisfying freedom of a life wholly given to Christ.

Preface & Chapter 1 — My Search for a Single Passion to Live By

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Read the Preface and Chapter 1 of Don't Waste Your Life. Key passages: Philippians 1:20–21; 3:7–8

Piper opens this book not with a theology lecture but with a confession — his own long, uncertain search for a single, all-consuming reason to live. Let these questions draw you into that same honest searching.

2.He traces his intellectual and spiritual formation through teachers like C.S. Lewis and professors at Wheaton and Fuller, noting how each pushed him toward a vision of God's glory as the supreme reality. What people, books, or moments have most shaped your own vision of what life is for?

3.Piper coins the phrase 'Christian Hedonism' — the idea that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. In your own words, what does he mean by this? Does it strike you as obviously true, surprising, or even troubling? Why?

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Chapter 2 — Boasting Only in the Cross, the Blazing Center of the Glory of God

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Read Chapter 2 of Don't Waste Your Life. Key passages: Galatians 6:14; 1 Corinthians 1:18–25; Romans 3:23–26

1.Piper argues that the cross is not merely the means of our forgiveness but the supreme display of God's glory — simultaneously revealing His justice and His love in a way nothing else could. How does this expand your usual way of thinking about what happened at Calvary?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Chapter 3 — Magnifying Christ Through Pain and Death

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Read Chapter 3 of Don't Waste Your Life. Key passages: Philippians 1:20–21; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Romans 8:18

1.Piper's goal, drawn directly from Philippians 1:20, is to magnify Christ 'whether by life or by death.' Why is death the supreme test of whether God is truly our treasure? What would it reveal about a person's true values if they faced death without peace?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Chapter 4 — Magnifying Christ Through Spending and Being Spent

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Read Chapter 4 of Don't Waste Your Life. Key passages: 2 Corinthians 12:15; Luke 12:15–21; Matthew 6:19–21

1.Piper tells the story of a couple he knew who had worked hard, retired early, and spent their remaining years playing golf and collecting shells on the beach. He uses this — tenderly but pointedly — as an image of a wasted life. Does his assessment feel fair or harsh to you? Why?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Chapter 5 — Risk Is Right: Better to Lose Your Life Than to Waste It

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Read Chapter 5 of Don't Waste Your Life. Key passages: Mark 8:34–36; Luke 14:26–33; Acts 20:24

1.The chapter title asserts that 'risk is right.' What does Piper mean by this? Why would risk-avoidance actually be the more dangerous option from an eternal perspective?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Chapter 6 — The Goal of Life: Showing the Supremacy of God in All Spheres

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Read Chapter 6 of Don't Waste Your Life. Key passages: 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17; Romans 11:36

1.Piper's central text for this chapter is 1 Corinthians 10:31 — 'Whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.' He insists this is not a cliché but a world-transforming principle. What does it actually mean to eat or drink to the glory of God? Give a concrete example.

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Chapter 7 — Living to Prove He Is More Precious Than Life

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Read Chapter 7 of Don't Waste Your Life. Key passages: Psalm 63:3; Matthew 5:11–12; Hebrews 10:34

1.The chapter's title echoes Psalm 63:3 — 'Your steadfast love is better than life.' Piper argues that the entire Christian life is an extended demonstration of whether we actually believe this. Do you? When is it hardest to believe that God's love is worth more than your life, health, relationships, or plans?

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Chapter 8 — Making Much of Christ from 8 to 5

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Read Chapter 8 of Don't Waste Your Life. Key passages: 1 Corinthians 10:31; Ephesians 6:5–8; Matthew 5:16

1.Piper argues that work is not a necessary evil or a mere paycheck-generating activity, but a primary arena for glorifying God. How does understanding your work as a calling (rather than just a career) change the way you approach it Monday morning?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Chapter 9 — The Majesty of Christ in Missions and Mercy

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Read Chapter 9 of Don't Waste Your Life. Key passages: Matthew 28:18–20; Romans 15:20–21; Isaiah 61:1–2

1.Piper argues that missions — taking the gospel to unreached peoples — is not one option among many for the serious Christian, but the inevitable overflow of a heart that is genuinely captivated by the glory of Christ. Do you feel that overflow in your own life? What might be blocking it?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Review & Reflection

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Review Don't Waste Your Life in its entirety. Consider rereading any chapter that struck you most deeply

1.Looking back across the entire book, which chapter or idea hit you most unexpectedly — either because it challenged a belief you held, named something you'd long felt but couldn't articulate, or simply broke through in a new way? What made it land so hard?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

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About the Don't Waste Your Life guide

How many weeks is the Don't Waste Your Life study guide?

This study guide covers Don't Waste Your Life in 10 weeks, with week-by-week discussion questions, reading references, and closing prayers for each session.

How many discussion questions are included?

The complete guide includes 71 discussion questions across 10 weeks — an average of 7 questions per week, designed for group conversation.

Can I use this guide for a book club?

Yes — the questions are written for group discussion and work well for small groups, book clubs, church studies, and couples reading together.

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