What truly matters
“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”Philippians 3:8
Reflection
Paul makes here a radical accounting of his own life. Before knowing Christ, he had an enviable "résumé": noble lineage, elite religious training, status, reputation, achievements. He lists all of that in the previous verses with a kind of pride — they were his "gains", the things that gave value to his life in the eyes of the world and in his own. And then he makes an astonishing declaration: all that he once considered GAIN, he came to consider LOSS "for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ". There was a complete reversal in his table of values.
Notice the force of the words. Paul does not say merely that Christ is "more important" than these things — he says that, compared to knowing Christ, everything else is "dung" (the original word is even stronger, meaning garbage, refuse). It is not that achievements, status and possessions are evil in themselves; it is that, placed beside Christ, they lose their shine completely. It is like comparing costume jewelry with a diamond: the jewelry is not ugly, but beside the diamond, who would care about it? Paul discovered a treasure so superior that everything else, in comparison, became insignificant.
This confronts how we measure the value of our life. We spend years accumulating "gains" the world values — money, success, recognition, security, achievements. And there is nothing wrong with having these things. The problem is when they become the TREASURE of our life, what gives meaning to our existence. Paul lived that transfer of treasure: he discovered that knowing Christ is infinitely more valuable than everything he had accumulated, and that winning Him was worth losing all the rest. The question he leaves us is: what is YOUR treasure? What, if you lost it, would make your life lose its meaning? The answer reveals where your true value lies.
It is important to understand what Paul GAINED in that exchange — because it was not a bad deal, it was the best deal in history. He did not lose everything for nothing; he traded passing things unable to satisfy for Someone eternal and infinitely satisfying. "That I may WIN Christ." In the end, whoever loses everything for Christ, in fact, gains — because he gains the One who is worth more than everything he loses. This does not mean we should abandon work, family or responsibilities; it means placing all of it in its proper place, BELOW Christ, and not on the throne of our heart. Today, do Paul’s accounting: what have you considered your greatest "gain"? And how does it compare to the "excellency of knowing Christ"? Perhaps it is time to reorganize your table of values — and discover, like Paul, that winning Christ makes all the rest worth losing.
Prayer
Lord, help me do Paul’s accounting: show me what I have considered my greatest "gain" — the achievements, the status, the security — and how it compares to the excellency of knowing You. Reorganize my table of values, placing You above everything, on the throne of my heart. May I discover that winning You is worth losing anything. Amen.
Put it into practice
Do "Paul’s accounting": identify what you have treated as the greatest "gain" or treasure of your life (something that, if you lost it, would make your life lose meaning). Honestly evaluate whether Christ is above it in your heart — and, if not, hand it to God, putting Christ back on the throne.
To reflect on
What is the "gain" you most value in life — and how does it compare, in your real table of values, to the excellency of knowing Christ?
Bible text: King James Version (public domain).