Paul lists his credentials - Hebrew heritage, studied under the best rabbi, zealous, blameless according to the law. Everything he built his identity on, he calls rubbish. The word is skubala, which actually means dung. It's not elegant. It's not a metaphor that makes you feel sophisticated.
I've spent thirty years building a resume. Good schools, good jobs, promotions, credentials that mean something. And I'm realizing that none of it - none of it - has actually made me feel alive or meaningful or at peace. I still feel empty most of the time. Paul's saying that knowing Christ, actually having a relationship with God, is worth more than all of that combined.
What's weird is that the moment I stopped making my career my ultimate thing, I got better at my actual job. Turns out being peaceful makes you more effective, not less. But more than that, my whole body relaxed. I'd been holding everything so tight, trying to make sure my life mattered. Now it matters because I'm loved, not because I'm accomplishing. That's the rubbish-dump moment - when you're willing to let go of what was supposed to make you valuable.
No comments yet. Be the first.