Philippians 3:7 "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ."
In the first six verses of this third chapter, Paul speaks of those who come
into their midst to boast of their own accomplishments. He had just told them
in chapter three to shine in the world of darkness. We tend to refer to people
as stars who stand out in society. We have movie stars, sports stars, political
stars and such. Paul tells the church at Philippi (and you and me) to beware of
those who try to boast of themselves and their works. If you would allow me a
moment of levity, we often hear it said, "He that tooteth not his own horn
getteth his horn not tooted." That is usually spoken in jest, but we all
know there are those who enjoy talking about their accomplishments.
While talking about the others, Paul took the moment to remind us of his former
position in life. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. He saw himself as being
blameless concerning the law. He was a Pharisee of the highest order. He
had sat at the feet of Gamaliel, the most learned man of the day concerning the
law. It might be said that Saul (as he was known in those days) was next in
line to take the highest seat of the Jewish religion. That was quite an
accomplishment!
But in this third chapter, Paul is telling the people to beware of those kinds
of people. Why? The answer could be considered to be so simple that we
overlook it. Paul, using himself as an example, says those things that tend to
lift me up will take away from the glory that we should be seeing in Christ.
Our one desire in all things we do should be that Christ would be seen in us
and through us. In fact, that is the only way we can shine as lights in this
world of darkness. Those who boast in themselves might be considered
shooting stars. They make a flash but then they burn out. The only way to
remain consistent in our Christian walk is when we are reflecting the glory of
the One Who is the true light of the world. His name is Jesus.
My desire is that Christ would shine and I would be a reflector of His glory.