In Fact, It's All Dung

It's hard to draw near to God, talk to Him, and hear Him, when there is so much stuff in the way. God wants us to know Him, know His will, and do it. This starts with salvation, continues with a life of humility and repentance, and thrives in worship.

God gives us a simple example to follow in Philippians 3:8-11. "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead."

I suppose there are things that, like Paul, I could boast about. What things do you have? Shall we get into a contest to see who has the best credentials? I used to do that in the online forums. We'd get into Scriptural debates that started out cordial with a point of view. Then we would defend our positions with Scripture. If one side didn't give, then things got nasty. Someone would then belittle the other by listing their credentials and demanding those of the other. I never went that far. The best I can throw into the ring is a two-year Bible degree.

But I have something more. I know Jesus. He knows me. We spend a lot of time together. I learn at His feet through the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Everything else is dung.

At the end of the argument, do you know Jesus? Do you know His will? If suspect you'll find out as I did that these online debates are not part of His will. In fact, God tells us to stay away from them entirely. Imagine two sides arguing a spiritual point and using God's Word as the weapon of choice. Is that right division?

I am learning to abandon all and keep it that way. Life is much simpler. The rest is dung. I don't know about you but I find dung offensive. But Jesus is sweet.