Collecting Seashells for the Glory of God

Twenty-three years ago, Pastor John Piper stood before a massive crowd of college students and preached a sermon that has changed the lives of many. Originally titled “Boasting Only in the Cross of Christ” the sermon has affectionately become known as “The Seashell Sermon.” Three years later the sermon was expanded into a book titled Don’t Waste Your Life (Crossway, 2003). In the sermon and the book, Piper juxtaposed two illustrations. One of two medical missionaries who died in a car accident while traveling to provide medical care to people in Cameroon. The other of a retired couple in Florida boasting the easy life of enjoying rides on their new boat, playing softball, and collecting seashells. Piper then posed the question, which one of these was a wasted life? 

For Piper, the answer is obvious. A life spent in service on the mission field is a life that brings glory to God, while a life spent on the beach collecting shells is a life well wasted. He challenged the college students who attended the event and by extension the readers of Don’t Waste Your Life to reject the American dream of retirement and submit one’s life to the service of God’s kingdom. His point is well taken. Piper’s ministry has transformed a generation and shaped the lives of countless. The sermon and book encouraged many to pursue pastoral ministry and mission work. Yet is ministry and mission the only way to glorify God with our life? Are there other career paths and life choices that can be as equally glorifying to God?

Reflecting on the sermon and Don’t Waste Your Life, I cannot help but ask the question: is Piper right? Is working hard and then retiring to Florida truly a wasted life? And on the other hand is serving in ministry or on the mission field the only way to truly use our days well? I think that Piper’s point in juxtaposing the two scenarios is to get the listener and reader to think about using their lives for God’s glory and not for their own self enjoyment. We cannot forget that the original aim of the message was to college students who were preparing for their career. Piper encourages them to reverse engineer their lives, if you will, to think about the end first and then live their lives towards that end. Culture tells us that money, success, and pleasure are the ultimate aims of life. Yet the gospel reminds us that man’s chief end is the glory of God. So how we live our life, matters. 

Two points of observation need to be made as we reflect on Piper’s sermon and book. First, I do not think that Piper intends to convey that leisure is inherently bad. After all God rested from his work on the seventh day, and we can infer that leisure is a part of resting. We are finite creatures that need a day off. Having a hobby, or enjoying a vacation at the beach are not a sin. In fact, those things are good for us in moderation. The argument could be made that a person could collect shells to the glory of God. But that is beside the point. What Piper is getting at is that too often we make those things the ultimate aim of life. When we do that, we are not living for the glory of God. 

The thrust of the sermon was based around Galatians 6:14 which says, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (ESV). Piper exhorts the listeners to not boast in anything, but the cross of Christ. He expounds on that and reminds the listeners that they can, and should, be thankful for the joys and pleasures of life. Yet they should only be thankful insofar as they ground that joy and thankfulness in the cross. For it was on the cross that Christ not only made a way of salvation, but in that salvation we can truly enjoy the pleasures of life, in him.

In the sermon and the book, Piper quotes part of a poem that hung on a plaque in his childhood home to drive home his point about a life well lived. It says, “Only one life twill soon be past only what is done for Christ will last”. Taken on the surface, this poem seems straightforward. Only things that we do in our life for Jesus will be those things that will ultimately last. There is biblical precedent for this notion. The Apostle Paul exhorted the church at Corinth to build their lives on the firm foundation of Christ and not on things that will not last (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-16). One could draw from this, however, that only pastoral ministry and mission work are those things that truly last. Yet thinking deeper about this truth, we realize that whatever we do, if it is done for the glory of God, it matters. In our work, and in our leisure, we can bring honor and glory to God.

This leads us to our second reflection. I do not think that Piper intends to convey that ministry and missions are the only means to serving the Lord. I do, however, believe that some have interpreted the sermon and book that way. Pastoral ministry and mission work are very high callings. The Bible even says that the man who seeks to be in pastoral ministry “desires a noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1). Yet ministry and mission work are not the only ways to serve the kingdom of God. Often in youth groups and at conferences, leaders seek to cast a vision for ministry and mission in an effort to encourage young people to explore these opportunities. They are told that they can “do something big for God” by going on the mission field. Don’t get me wrong, this can be a good thing. Young people desire to make a difference in the world, and should explore opportunities for ministry and mission work as they arise. Yet the mission field is not the only way that they can make a difference in the world. 

Think about it, if all Christians went into ministry or on the mission field who would share the gospel at the bank, in the law firm, or on the soccer field? Jesus’ prayer for us in John 17 is that we would be in the world and not of the world. He asked the Father to “sanctify them in the truth” (John 17:16). This is crucial. Our call as followers of Jesus is to display his glory wherever we are (1 Corinthians 10:31). If we only spend time among other believers in our “holy huddle” then we will not be effective at reaching the world with the gospel and making disciples (see Matthew 28:18-20). I think a better way to encourage young people to be on mission is to plant them deep in the gospel and send them out into the world equipped to share the gospel wherever the Lord chooses to plant them. Our world needs gospel saturated bankers, lawyers, congressmen, mayors, farmers, teachers, medical workers, and more! Callings to these vocations are just as valid as the call to pastoral ministry and the mission field. 

In conclusion, I am deeply grateful for the ministry of John Piper. As mentioned above his sermons and books have had a tremendous impact on myself, and countless others, among my generation in the church. However, I hope that what young people take away from this message is that they can serve the Lord in any career, not just ministry. My prayer is that the Lord will continue to use “The Seashell Sermon” and Don’t Waste Your Life to call the next generation of young people to service in his kingdom wherever he leads. Even if they do happen to have a great shell collection.