Today’s Reading: Philippians 3:4-7 ESV
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”
More About Philippians 3:4-7
Written by Quantrilla Ard (First 5 Ministries)
Digging into the original language of Philippians 3:7, we find that the Greek word for gain is kerdē, but it is translated as the plural form of gain, gains. This makes sense as Paul listed more than one “gain” among his worldly accomplishments. It is important to note that these accomplishments were not inherently bad. But these gains were counted as zēmia, the Greek word for damage or loss, translated as singular, not plural. So he counted the multiple gains as a singular loss compared to his relationship with Christ. On the balance sheet of life, all of our accomplishments add up to one big zero compared to the value of knowing Jesus.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for giving us the ability to accomplish things on earth, no matter how great or small. Help us to realize that we are more than the sum of those accomplishments – that our identity does not hinge on what we can see, but that it is connected to whose we are. Forgive us for being overly confident in anything or anyone but You. May You always get the glory in our lives, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Journal Prompt: Think of a time you were confident in an achievement. Was it something that was identity-defining for you? Why or why not?
