One could conclude that Apostle Paul grew up in the fancy part of town. He certainly had an enviable pedigree/family line and was educated at the equivalent of a highly selective, ivy-league college; at the feet of the renowned Gamaliel.
He was likely in the Fortune 40 of his time, accomplished and highly successful. His vocation as a Pharisee was a run-away success in light of his ignorance of the salvific pan; he was one of the most zealot ones and could boast of many kills. Kills as in torture and murder of the newly converted Christians.
Yet with that stellar resume, he had given up the human urge to be boastful, thanks to his encounter with and new nature in Christ. The things that were worth highlighting in his former life were now shameful memories in his new life in Christ. They could no longer improve his profile or reputation or net-worth. Worse than that, those high points of his former life could actually ruin him now, if he put any confidence in them instead of his Savior.
And he wasn’t done yet. Whatever it would take to win Christ, he was more than willing to give up or do.
We can draw parallels with our lives. May we be ready to consider our pluses from our old lives as losses for the wise and supreme good of intimacy with Christ.
‘We are the circumcision, we who worship through the Spirit of God, who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our confidence in flesh, although I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh’. – Philippians 3:3-4
Hilltop Thoughts, Valley Strengths 