3 Reasons I Loved "Tuesdays with Morrie"

A little book about a younger man and his dying college professor.

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Tuesdays with Morrie is not new; my copy was published in 1997.

And yet, this book is such a moving story because pretty much everyone can relate to it.

The “Moving Power” Behind Tuesdays with Morrie.

See if this sounds familiar.

You get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life to the point of feeling overwhelmed. You don’t make time for people - even the people you love - as you should. You’re too busy climbing that ladder of success.

Suddenly, you find out that someone who has had a powerful impact on your life is sick - and they won’t be getting better. You want to go see them, but you feel ashamed because you haven’t spent time with them as you should have over the year - maybe you even forgot about them for a while.

This is the power of this book: am I talking about your life, or am I talking about Tuesday with Morrie?

It will “move you” because the story sounds all too familiar even if you’ve never read it.

There were three main reasons I enjoyed reading this book. While I wouldn’t call Tuesdays with Morrie a “Christian book,” there are biblical principles that are emphasized in it.

Tuesdays with Morrie Challenges Our Perspective on Life.

Morrie is the author’s college professor, and he’s been diagnosed with ALS - or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He has come face to face with the reality that his life is quickly vanishing.

Morrie tells the author, “Learn how to die, and you learn how to live.”

The truth is, if you really listen to that bird on your shoulder, if you accept that you can die at any time - then you might not be as ambitious as you are…The things you spend so much time on - all this work you do - might not seem as important. You might have to make room for some more spiritual things. - Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie, 83-84

That will sure challenge our perspective, won’t it?

Think about what’s on your schedule this week. If you’re like me, it’s probably pretty full.

What if you knew you were going to die this Saturday night? What would you take off your agenda for this week? What would you make sure you did this week? I imagine the week would look slightly different if we knew it was our last week.

But here’s where we have fooled ourselves in life - our life is like the morning mist or a puff of smoke (James 4:14). It’s here for a little while, and then it’s gone.

Any of us could die at any time. So why do we not live like it?

Tuesdays with Morrie Reminds Us of the Importance of People.

Our culture tends to isolate us from other people.

If you want to learn something, just Google it. If you want to say something, just log in to social media and let ‘em have it! If you feel lonely or bored, just fire up your favorite movie or TV show.

None of these things are wrong in and of themselves, but I’m trying to make the point that we are a lonely, isolated culture. Tuesdays with Morrie remind us how important people are and how we should care about others.

Specifically, the book reminds us how we need people who love us.

This is part of what a family is about, not just love, but letting others know there’s someone who is watching out for them. It’s what I missed so much when my mother died - what I call your '“spiritual security” - knowing that your family will be there watching out for you. Nothing else will give you that. Not money. Not fame…Not work. - Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie, 92

In a culture that tells us to make it on our own, Tuesdays with Morrie gently reminds us, “You can’t make it on your own.”

The Hebrews writer reminded Christians how much they needed each other.

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Christians need each other. We are important to each other.

Tuesdays with Morrie Urges Us to Maintain a Student’s Mindset.

The author keeps visiting Morrie, his old college professor, in the weeks leading up to his death.

The author talks about these visits as his way of “continuing his education.” He’s continuing to learn from his old teacher, even as his college professor’s life is draining away. He encourages us through Morrie’s teaching to continue growing and learning.

Peter encourages Christians to “desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). He concludes his final letter by urging Christians to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

We never hit a point in life where we can discard a “student’s mindset.” We should all continue to sit at the feet of the Master Teacher, learning from Him (Matthew 28:18-20).

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Tuesdays with Morrie is an older book that I just got around to reading.

But I’m sure glad I read it. And if you’ve never read it, you’ll be glad you did too.