"My Whole Life Has Been a Waste"

Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for sake of the gospel will save it (Mark 8:35 TNIV).

I’ll confess, I’ve pretty much written him off.

Say the name “Mike Tyson” and the words and images that come to my mind are void of grace. I say it to my shame, but it’s the truth. Rapist, convict, wife beater, ear biter, animal -that about sums it up. Still, I was troubled when I saw the front page of the June 3-5 issue of USA Today. An article on Tyson ran under this headline: “My Whole Life Has Been a Waste.” Those are Tyson’s own words. He continues:

“I’ll never be happy. I believe I’ll die alone. I would want it that way. I’ve been a loner all my life with my secrets and my pain. I’m really lost but I’m trying to find myself. I’m really a sad, pathetic case.”

I’ve got alot to learn about showing grace and loving like Jesus loved – but I know this much with certainty: no one should ever have to feel that way about their life, at least not in a conclusive, final way. Sure, there are days, seasons and circumstances when anyone could say the same thing – but Tyson’s words should never stand as the final verdict.

Tyson’s words raise a question: what is a “wasted life?” Further, what's the connection between a “wasted life” and a poorly lived life? Does "wasted" require disastrous mistakes or choices? As heart-wrenching as Tyson’s assessment of his life is, there is something yet more tragic. Far too many people are wasting their lives and don’t know it. They’ve not left a trail of wreckage behind them that screams “wasted life.” In fact, to most observers their lives look enviable. Good jobs, nice homes, good looking family, ski trips in winter and beach trips in summer. That’s the life.

But even a life that’s comfortable and attractive can be wasted. And it is wasted because it is spent entirely in the pursuit of something that isn’t worthy of the gift that life is. We’ve all got one life, one shot. What will we do? How will we live it? How will we invest our energies? To whom and to what will we give our best self?

Jesus told a story to make this very point. A certain man was quite savvy and lucky in the conduct of his farming business. His acreage yielded a rich harvest and he found himself with more crops than he could handle. His plan was good business, but not-so-good living. “I’ll expand the business. I’ll build larger barns. I’ll store the surplus and then take early retirement.” That was the business strategy. As for his life, the plan was simple: take life easy, eat, drink and be merry (Luke 12:16-21).

God called this man a fool. He was a fool because on day one of the “be merry” plan he was required to give an accounting of his life. The story says it happened that very night, suggesting to my imagination a sudden and quiet death in his sleep. In an instant his soul was required of him. All he could show was stored crops – and who would get that now?

In his book, Don’t Waste Your Life, John Piper tells of two elderly missionaries, both single women, who were killed overseas in an auto collision. Piper asks, “was that a tragedy?” His answer: no, that was not a tragedy. He then shares a story from Reader’s Digest about a couple who has taken early retirement in Florida. They spend their days boating, playing softball, and collecting sea shells. This, says Piper, is a tragedy. To spend the closing years of your one life collecting shells and playing softball is a tragedy. I don’t take this as a wholesale condemnation of recreation or retirement – but the point is well taken. We’ve got one shot. What will we do? What is worthy of the gift?

Again, the words of Jesus: “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:35). To waste life is to spend our days and our best energy grasping at the good life as our culture defines it, or as we define it in terms of our own cravings and dreams. To yield life, to give it up as a kind of sacrifice for God to use – this is what it means to live and live well.

Interestingly, Mike Tyson has also spoken words that echo this good news, this gospel. Following his recent loss in the ring, Tyson was quoted as saying, “when I was younger, I felt life was about acquiring things. But as I get older, I know life is totally about losing everything.”

Tyson may be closer to redemption than any of us think. Much closer than others whose lives appear to be so much more “together.” Wasted life? Perhaps not. The verdict is still out.

(Suggested summer reading: John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life, Crossway Books, 2003)