Philippians 3-4 | Divine Accounting

All of us appreciate a good accounting system, even if we are not the ones administering it. You are grateful when you go to a store, that they will only charge you what is advertised. In business, you want to know how things will be recorded and have a clear understanding of what will be done, particularly when it’s your money that is involved.

God has an accounting system and Paul, when finally enlightened, realized that it was completely opposite of what he had operated under for years.

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:7-8)

GAIN AND LOSS

Every accounting system operates on the principle of gain or loss, assets, and liabilities.

For years Paul had lived to gain things for himself--self-glory, attention, fame, possessions, etc. But he finally realized that this was completely the opposite of how God counted and what was valuable. All the things he had put in the "gain" column were actually "loss" and vice versa.

The tragedy of these losses was that when Paul pursued them, he was not only missing what mattered but going backward. His loss (and ours) was doubled.

NEW ASSETS

Finally, he had come to see the eternal, Divine system and he began to live for something else and receive something else, laying up treasures that would really pay off for all eternity.

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:8-11)

Here were the true assets: having true righteousness which comes through faith in Christ, gaining Christ, being found in Him, knowing Him, experiencing the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, and experiencing the eternal resurrection into the new kingdom in heaven.

This is all that matters; this is all that lasts.

Father, open up my eyes to Your accounting system. Help me increasingly see what is important and give me the wisdom and grace to pursue it with all my heart. Keep me from the trivial and worthless. Help me invest greatly in knowing You and helping others know You.