Skubalon

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8).

You can lose everything and still have everything.

What? That makes no sense.

How can you lose everything and still have everything?

Look at the verses of the day. That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul is saying. You can lose everything that is of this world and still have everything that matters and counts in eternity when you have Christ as Lord.

Everything in this world will all end up in the junkyard. Everything. And, you know what belongs in the junkyard? Garbage:

• Money,
• houses,
• bank accounts,
• art collections,
• the newest laptop,
• the latest iPhone,
• our cars,
• everything.

Everything that we hold valuable in this world is junk. It’s all stuff that will end up in the junkyard. There is not a single thing in this world that we can take to eternity when we die. NOT ONE THING. It’s all junk.

But, if you know Christ as Lord, if you gain Christ, you’ve got everything. In fact, knowing Christ as Lord will help us to appreciate and know how to use the things of this world to make a difference for eternity. Everything that we have in this world is to be used to help people to know Christ. Everything in this world is to be used to help people transition from this world for eternity.

When Paul says, “I consider them garbage,” the Greek word is skubalon.

Say that- skubalon.

The NIV translation is very mild compared to the actual Greek. What is skubalon? It’s the stuff that comes out of the other end when we consume food. skubalon. It’s not even the nice word, feces. It’s kind of the rough word. You know…s#&t. The King James Version translates this as dung. Everything in this world is skubalon! When we die, all of it is skubalon!

Don’t live to acquire and amass skubalon! That would be skubalon!

Make your life count. Use what we have in this world so that you can introduce as many people to Jesus Christ as Lord. That’s the only thing that counts.

You can lose everything in this world and still have everything. Because everything in this world is skubalon. And as long as you have Christ as Lord, you have everything!

Make your life count. Live well. Use skubalon to usher as many people to Christ.