It is quite a statement to say that you consider to be garbage all of the things that you had done before. All of your accomplishments. All of the things that even others would say about you to describe what you have done in this world. That, though, is the lens through which Paul sees his life, at least in comparison to the value and the worth of knowing Jesus.

Paul is making a comparison. He is holding up the value of the things that he has done, that which people would normally evaluate one another, alongside the value of knowing Christ. And as he sees the one in comparison with the other – his heritage, his religious position, his personal attributes, and his own righteousness as compared to knowing Christ – he sees his own experiences as nothing but garbage.

These are all of the things by which we typically evaluate one another. If you intend to hire someone, one of the first things that you look at is their resume. What has this person done? What is their education? What is their experience?

And Paul’s education, experience, and practice is, from a Jewish perspective, flawless.

This should, within his society, lift him up. This should give him a promotion. This should, if God were to think as human beings think, immediately allow Paul to come directly into a good and right relationship with God.

But God does not think that way. He isn’t too interested in all of our trophies, nor our accolades. There is only one way that we can know God, and that is through Jesus Christ. So because of this, because we can know God through Christ, Paul places that relationship above all things.

Paul understands that all he had done previously to gain his accomplishments, to impress others and more, was simply garbage. There is one thing, and one thing only, in which he is interested: knowing Christ.

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

Paul sees the world through this lens: How can I know Christ? How can I know him even more? How can other people know Christ, and know him more? That is the one single thing that matters to him and everything else is garbage.

And what about me? What about each of us? Do I see the world through that same lens? Do I place the highest value on knowing Christ, following him, and glorifying him? This is certainly my desire, although I feel that I have a long way to go. My prayer is that I will be able to live for Christ, understanding the value of knowing him, and live for him, now and into eternity.