Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith -- that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Phil 3:7-11)Okay, not financial economics. But clearly Paul is speaking in "debit and credit" terminology.
So, what was in Paul's "credit" column? In the first part of this chapter he details what a wonderful guy he was (Phil 3:3-5). "I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh," he says and then gives his pedigree as an observant Jew. It is this quite impressive list, however, that he classifies originally as "gain" ("Whatever gain I had") and now as "loss".
So now that he's put all that wonderful stuff in the "debit" column, what "gain" is Paul seeking? Well, let's see. "Not having a righteousness of my own," "share His sufferings," "becoming like Him in His death" -- okay, now wait! These are things that Paul classifies as gain? Indeed! From Paul's perspective "the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" far outweighs anything else we might imagine. It even makes those "negative" things positives.
This idea isn't just Paul's. Remember? Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for My sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life." (Mark 10:29-30) There it is again, that putting of items normally perceived as "gain" ("houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands") in the loss column and "loss" ("persecutions") in the gain column. And it's a good thing!
It is, in fact, the standard Christian life. The command is "Give up all of yourself." It is said in a variety of ways. "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me." (Matt 16:24) It is "crucified with Christ." (Gal 2:20) We are to kill the passions and desires of the flesh (Gal 5:24). "We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin." (Rom 6:6) We are called to "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God." (Rom 12:1) These -- self, life, passions, desires, bodies -- are "loss" items. In return, we are promised eternal life, treasures and rewards in heaven, a relationship with God, forgiveness of sin, atonement, the Holy Spirit, "a hundredfold" what we lose.
So I have some questions. If obedience is "loss" in the sense of "loss of freedom" and "loss of doing things I like", is it also "gain"? Since we are called to die to self, to take up our cross, to surrender all, are the promises worth the "loss"? In view of what we cost Him, is it too much to ask? In view of what He's promised, does it make any sense to refuse? From a purely "gain and loss" economics perspective, it would seem to me that the only reasonable and wise thing to do would be to consider what we think of as "gain" in this life as loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ. To align ourselves with His death and suffering and persecution in view of the value of knowing Him seems the only logical way to go. So why do we still hesitate?
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