I found this to be a most disturbing book--one that provoked a strong visceral reaction as I read it. Although this is a book on enjoying the Christian life, I found little joy in reading it.
As one reads the book, it seems that Piper's goal is to reconcile hedonism, which has become almost a universal religion in our day, with Christianity. The result is much the same as when Christian philosophers attempted to reconcile Greek philosophy with Christianity. Christianity is diminished, even corrupted, by the introduction of pagan elements.
For Piper "it is unbiblical and arrogant to try to worship God for any other reason than the pleasure to be found in Him." Such statements have a tendency to devalue God to a mere object to be used by man in the pursuit of his own pleasure.
Even God does not escape diminution by this attempt to reconcile hedonism with Christianity, for Piper states "redemption, salvation, and restoration are not God's ultimate goal. These He per forms for the sake of something greater: namely, the enjoyment He has in glorifying Himself," and God "prizes and delights in His own glory above all things." Such statements devalue man to a mere object to be used by God for His own pleasure.
Despite these drawbacks, Piper provides many valuable insights. There are some real gems here. For example: "The fuel of worship is the truth of God, the furnace of worship is the spirit of man, and the heat of worship is the vital affections of reverence, contrition, trust, gratitude, and joy. But there is something missing from this picture. There is furnace, fuel, and heat, but no fire. The fuel of truth in the furnace of our spirit does not automatically produce the heat of worship. There must be ignition and fire. This is the Holy Spirit. . . . When Jesus says that true worshipers worship the Father 'in spirit,' He must mean that true worship comes only from spirits made alive and sensitive by the quickening of the Spirit of God."
The hedonistic elements in the book are not an essential thread that cannot be removed without destroying the whole fabric. One willing to pick out and set aside the hedonism as one would toss out onions or other disagreeable elements from a salad will find the remainder of it palatable and useful to promote spiritual life. But the onions may cause some gastric distress!
