The God Shot: Philippians 3:8b-9a

"for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him," (Philippians 3:8b-9a)

In order to follow Christ, Paul walked away from his old life of power and prestige. He lost it all and said that as he looks back on all he lost, he considers it rubbish. In the original Greek, this word rubbish would have been a curse word. That's how emphatic Paul was about the place earthly blessings held in comparison to knowing the eternal joys of a relationship with Jesus. Earthly blessings aren't wrong, they aren't sinful, they're just not worth comparing to Jesus. Paul doesn't even say they're second compared to Christ. He says they're rubbish compared to Christ. Surely you know that earthly joys are fleeting because you've lived it. You want the thing, you get the thing, then you get bored with the thing. Nothing lasts except Him. He's where the joy is!