For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

3:8   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

Paul counts everything as loss, and then speaks of having suffered the loss of all things as rubbish. I understand “these things” as that which his detractors still clung to, the reputation and religious pride afforded them in the pharisaical religion.

Some translators replace rubbish with “dung”, that which is the refuse of an animal. Paul counts “those things” as not simply something that has no value, but that it is of a detrimental value. If I understand Paul, he is describing a balance sheet of worth to the Philippians. He is a bit of an accountant in this and the following verses. That which was highly prized is now considered a negative, a burden, a debt, a hindrance on the balance sheet of his life. 

Notice how this also provides a slap in the face to those who cherish the life of a committed pharisee, who considered themselves the chosen of God, and that the dirty Gentiles were as such to God. A good pharisee would consider a gentile to be of worth equal to an off scouring of an old plate, or the refuse of a dog. 

Things have completely flipped for Paul, and there is only one reason for this radical change in lifestyle and faith.

Jesus. 

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