John Piper: Finding Inspiration in Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton
Presidents Can Change People's Lives for Decades, but Pastors Can Change the Way People Live Forever
At age 70, when most people are winding down their careers and thinking about retirement, or are already retired, Pastor John Piper is feeling "energized to dream great things," thanks to the examples of Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.
In a post this week for his website DesiringGod.org, a site for the purpose of glorifying God, the theologian explains the reason for his increased sense of invigoration. "My rising energy has nothing to do with their policies or character. It has to do with the incredible fact that all of them want to spend their 70s doing the hardest job in the world."
Clinton, 68, Trump, 69 and Sanders, 74, are all pursuing the highest office in the land past the typical age of retirement — something that Piper finds highly motivating. "That makes it all the more inspiring for me," he writes, "because nothing gets me more excited than spending my 70s spreading a passion for the glory of Christ and His Word."
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Piper then makes an appeal to America's 70 million Baby Boomers, urging them to make the most of their so-called final chapter.
"Billions of dollars are spent every year trying to get us to waste the last chapter of our lives on leisure. I'm spending one afternoon to plead with the rising 70-somethings: Don't waste it."
With his 70-something zeal for Christ "heating up," Piper knows that the impact of even the most noble efforts of any president pale in comparison to one's work for the Kingdom of God.
"They [presidential candidates] only get to be president of a tiny territory called the United States. I get to be an ambassador of the Sovereign of the universe. They only get to change the way some people live for a few decades. I get to change the way some people live forever — with a lot of good spill-over for this world in the process."
The theologian hopes that Baby Boomers will use Clinton, Trump, Sanders and former President Ronald Reagan — who at age 76 challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall" — as sources of inspiration. Piper also makes note of other highly productive 70-somethings, including theologian Charles Hodge, Benjamin Franklin, and John Glenn who, at age 77, became the oldest person to travel in space.
Finally, Piper wittily tells readers, "Make no mistake. The Bible believes in retirement. It's called Heaven."
