But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of
Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the
surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost
all things. I consider them garbage, 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 is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes
from God on the basis of faith. Philippians 3:7-9
In a sense,
yes. Paul in Philippians 3 was comparing
our confidence in the world with our confidence in God. Paul lived in both worlds—the earthly and
the heavenly—with great success in both.
He grew in
prominence as a Pharisee, passing every test, living zealously as a Jewish
leader, even persecuting Christian churches.
Then, after an encounter with Christ, Paul changed all that and shifted
his emphasis to building Christian churches around Greece and what’s known as
Turkey today.
After seeing
both worlds, Paul said all his efforts in Godly things were the most
valuable. In fact, in true comparison,
the value of the heavenly far exceeded anything he did in the earthly. He would score heavenly as a 100 on a scale from 1 to 10. It surpassed the earthly that far.
Think of
items you have in your house. Once those
things were so important and you needed them.
Now, over time, as you look it, you see it as garbage that needs to be
thrown out--like a VCR or a Sony Walkman
(CD player). Time shows the true value
of things. You only want things that
will last.
Faith in
God will last eternity. The things in
this world will hit the garbage when you die.