⁸ More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8 CSB)

We often put a high value on our possessions, our jobs or our families. If you really want to get a feel for just what you value most consider where you spend the majority of your time. America has become a very materialistic place to live. We put a high value on things that a year later we replace. Even relationships get tossed aside often for something new.

But next to the value of knowing Christ there is absolutely nothing that is of any value in this world.

“Knowing Christ. Jesus my Lord. Consider all things as rubbish.” These are the words Paul used to describe the surpassing value of following Christ and the completely useless nature of anything else. But you may say, “I must survive.” But does your Lord not love you more than the birds of the air or the flowers in the field. Yet He feeds the birds and He clothes the flowers in splendor.

Yes, we must survive, but God provides paths to our survival because He loves us and He wants the best for us. But you see, He also knows that He is the best for us even when we cannot see it past all of our stuff and the things that distract us from Him.

When we begin to see as Paul saw and understand the surpassing value of gaining Christ we begin to put everything in the world in its proper place. We see that putting first things first, namely God, is how we face life with true security and true value.