What are you willing to lose?

So, what would your answer be? What are you willing to lose? Let's take a peek at Philippians 3:7 (ESV).

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

Now, remember the writer of Philippians is Paul. He was at one time Saul of Tarsus. If we go back and look at verses 5 and 6, we will learn Paul was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, he was Jewish and came from the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Pharisee, which means he knew the Jewish law. He studied the Torah-Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In the Christian world, these five books of the Bible are called the Pentateuch, which starts at Creation and goes to Israel's preparation to enter the Promised Land.

Since Paul studied the Torah, he knew the law. But he was a Pharisee, some of them were wealthy, it is unknown if Paul was wealthy or not. He persecuted Christians and was zealous. He was on the road to Damascus when he met Jesus, in a vision. He was blinded, but ultimately healed by Ananias. (See Romans 9). From then on, Paul, as his name was changed, proclaimed Jesus as his Savior. And in Philippians, Paul states, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

As a Pharisee and Jew, he may have given up family, friends, and wealth. The only thing that matters to him is the Christ and the righteousness of Jesus. While those losses may have been significant, moving from being self-centered to being centered in Christ is the most important.

Don't allow the things that are lost, or you are going to lose keep you bound. One can not look back on those things, but only look forward to what God has in store. Remember Lot's wife, she was instructed NOT to look back, but she did and turned into a pillar of salt. She could not let go of what she was losing and had lost.

What are you willing to lose for the sake of Christ? I hope you ponder on the question.

May you be blessed,

Veronica