Worthless

Today, Paul offers a valuable reminder about our relationship with God.

Philippians 3

1 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved.

3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort,

4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!

5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin - a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.

6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ

9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,

11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

Worthless. There is nothing you can do to make yourself right with God. I know you’ve probably heard that before; but you need to hear it again. Our attempts to earn God’s favor are worthless. You may tire of hearing it; but the truth is you need the constant reminders because this is one of the most common pitfalls you will face on your journey with God (before you encounter Jesus, when you accept Jesus and even after you have known Jesus for a long time). What’s the big deal right? We’re talking about doing good things here aren’t we? Who cares what the motivation is behind it? It may seem like a subtle (unimportant) difference; but in fact, it is a monumental difference. When we are trying to earn God’s forgiveness, our focus is really on us. More specifically, the focus is on how we are doing compared to everyone else. When we accept God’s forgiveness, our focus remains on Him. We are free to focus on knowing God and serving God ... out of gratitude instead of obligation. When was the last time finding out something was worthless was so valuable?