Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus (Phil 3:7-12).This passage is a mind-blowing piece to read if you're paying attention. It is amazing in consideration of today's "me" mentality. Think about it. What is it that you consider "gain"? Normal thinking would say "a better car" or "a nicer home" or "a good job". More "godly" thinking might include "a good wife" or "good children". Unfortunately for us, the "normal" list, as long as it might be, is not a biblical list. The biblical list is ... Christ. Short, sweet, to the point.
Can you imagine a life lived on the terms suggested by Paul? What would that look like? Comfort, pleasant living, wealth, status, power ... all of these would be viewed as loss. Instead, "knowing Christ" would be the only gain. Suffering toward that end would be gain. "Being conformed to His death" would be gain. And it would be a constant. "I press on," he says. It is a life lived with Christ in view and the only "stuff" of value there would be that which gets me closer to Christ.
Wow! I have to be honest. I'm not at all clear on what that would actually look like. I'm a brainwashed American that tends to think that money and pleasure and "stuff" and comfort are things we should seek while Paul says they're loss. I want to be able to retire in comfort (or at least without starving to death on the street) and Paul says, "Who cares? Whatever it takes to know Him! That's what's important!" I am a time-bound earth dweller who cannot seem to imagine clearly what the eternally-minded Christian ought to look like. But I can say this -- it's what I want.
4 comments:
I do not see passages such as this one, nor admonitions against storing up wealth, as a mandate to avoid wealth. Rather, I see it as an instruction as to priorities and pecking orders. In all things, Christ comes first. Without Christ, all things are meaningless. The accumulation of the best life possible should never be secondary to Christ.
I don't think I said anything about (against) storing up wealth. The question I would ask is the point of the post: On what basis would you store up wealth? Not in terms of priority; in terms of motivation. If it is comfort now, I'm not at all clear on how that makes sense, since we are "ambassadors" (2 Cor 5:20), "strangers and exiles on the earth" (Heb 11:13), "looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God" (Heb 11:10). This world is not our home. Accumulating the best life possible here seems pointless in view of eternity. Accumulating the best life possible in eternity starts here. If that begins with accumulating wealth (toward the end of achieving the best in eternity), then I don't see a problem with it. That would be my point.
Good morning.
Skip Moen has an interesting perspective on the words translated as "gain" and "loss" in Philippians 3:7, if you're interested.
He says this about the word "zemia" which is translated as "loss": But when you have zemia, you still have something, but now it is a disadvantage. It isn’t lost to you. You still possess it, but now it is no longer of value. In fact, having it becomes a distinct disadvantage to you. You are injured by possessing it. http://skipmoen.com/2006/06/20/winning-tennis/
As far as saving for retirement, I would think we would do that so we won't become a burden or have to depend on others when we can no longer work. Though, I don't know that people in Bible times actually thought about "retirement" in the sense that we moderns do. Even when a Christian retires from a job/profession, that doesn't mean he retires from the race/journey/Christian life.
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (I Corinthians 9:24-27 NIV)
I think maybe that's an example of being "Heavenly-Minded."
Kari
Yes, that's how I would see "loss". Not "lost", but "a debit" rather than "a credit".
As for saving for retirement (like "accumulating wealth" in the previous comment), I would always ask "Why?" Is it for personal comfort or for ministry, love, eternal gain? (But, oh, I so wish we could return to the days when family, both physical and spiritual, could maintain family. They're lost, I suppose, at least for now.)
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