John Piper preached a sermon yesterday on giving that I hope everyone will listen to. It is the only time I have ever heard him talk with specificity about how he spends his own money. He acknowledges the risk of sharing his own story but rightly concludes it is worth the risk to share.
Piper says that he gives away all of the copyrights to the books that he writes to the Desiring God Foundation. So he gets none of the royalties from his books. Why does he do this? Because he knows he would be a millionaire if he didn’t, and he doesn’t trust his own heart with those kinds of riches. For Piper, the issue is not how much money you make but how much you keep. He is apparently keeping very little.
This is one of the reasons why Piper is a hero to me. I know that Piper is just a regular guy; he’s human and sinful like the rest of us. Still, he’s a regular guy who fights with all his might to pursue his joy in God. May God help me to do the same.
You can watch the message below, listen below, or download here.
[audio:http://cdn.desiringgod.org/resources/sermon/2012/20120128.mp3]
6 Comments
yankeegospelgirl
I had never known this before, but I feel humbled to have learned it now. Thank you so much for writing this.
JStanton
Many of us fall into a trap of thinking how much of ours we should give to God. Piper sets a good example. How much of what belongs entirely to God do we keep for ourselves?
And you don’t need to be wealthy to come to that conclusion. It requires being a good steward over your finances and a humble awareness of the potential to sin in that area.
Pingback:
Jon Thornton
Did not know this, but it does not surprise me! The way that he speaks about Jesus and teaches Gods word is different from many. I love that he is completely unashamed of the Gospel!
Pingback:
Pingback: