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"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"
(Matthew 22:37-39)
John Piper served as the senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota for almost 33 years. He continues to be a popular speaker and preacher at conferences where many younger people attend. I researched why Piper is still very well received and listened to by many in Gen Z (people currently in their 20s) while he is in his 80s. Part of the answer is that he saw early on the importance of digital ministry and was an early adopter. His books and preaching are well written and skillfully communicated. He is not dry and speaks with much passion and enthusiasm. He possesses both a great mind and heart. He holds degrees from Wheaton College, Fuller Seminary, and the University of Munich. He has written some excellent books; I have read Let the Nations Be Glad! and Desiring God. In the latter book, Piper has an Appendix entitled, "What Does It Mean to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself?" Read and meditate on his insightful words from page 251:
"According to the spirit of this age, the ultimate sin is no longer the failure to honor and thank God, but the failure to oneself, Self-abasement, not God-abasement, is the evil. And the cry of deliverance is not 'O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me?' but 'O worthy man that I am, would that I could only see it better!' Today the first and greatest commandment is, 'Thou shalt love thyself.' The explanation for almost every interpersonal problem is thought to lie in someone's low self-esteem. Articles, and books have pushed this idea deep into the Christian mind. For many years, the cult of self has been expanding phenomenally, and its professional members take every chance to put a mirror before us, and to tell us to like what we see."
What a better world we would have if we loved others as easily and powerfully as we love ourselves. It is only in loving God and others that we find true joy, peace, and contentment in this life.
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