Know What Counts, and What Doesn’t

In review of Philippians 3:8 it Paul says, “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (NLT).

In Philippians 3 Paul says there is joy in believing. Whatever happens, rejoice in the Lord. Rely on what Christ has done. Put no confidence in your own efforts. Paul came to a point in his life where he considered everything he had accomplished in his life as worthless, when compared with the greatness of knowing Christ. I should value my relationship with Christ as more important than anything else. To know Christ should become my ultimate goal.  I do so by (1) Studying the life of Christ in the Gospels, how he lived and responded to people. (2) Study all New Testament references to Christ. (3) As I worship and pray, let the Holy Spirit remind me of Christ's words. (4) Take up Christ's mission to preach the gospel and learn from his sufferings. To do so means making changes in my thinking and my life. Am I willing to change some of the things I do today in order to learn more about Christ?

It’s easy to lose joy over some little thing. It’s usually the small irritations that cause me to lose my happiness. Somebody cuts you off in the middle of the road when I’m trying to make a turn, and I lose your happiness. I’m having a bad hair day or the clothes I put on don’t fit anymore, and I lose your happiness. It’s the little things that sometimes affect me the most, yet they don’t really matter.

Whatever was the most important thing to me before I began to follow Christ doesn’t matter anymore compared to the joy of knowing Jesus.

In the small things, I need to ask myself, How much will this matter in 100 years? How much of what I’m worrying about right now is going to matter tomorrow? It’s probably not going to matter tomorrow, much less for eternity. I can choose to live in light of eternity: “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8 NLT). Each day I should remind myself what counts, and what doesn’t.

In summary, everything is worthless when compared with knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Whatever happens, rejoice in the Lord. Rely on what Christ has done and put no confidence in my own efforts. Knowing Christ should become my ultimate goal. I can do so by studying his life in the Gospels (how he lived and responded to others), studying all New Testament references to Christ, letting the Holy Spirit remind me of Christ's words and taking up Christ's mission to preach the gospel and learn from his sufferings. I need to allow it to make changes in my thinking and my life. It's easy to lose joy over some little thing that occurs in my life. It's this little things that sometimes affect me the most yet they don't really matter. In this small things, I need to ask, how much of what I'm worrying about right now is going to matter tomorrow, much less for eternity. Instead I can choose to live in the light of eternity. Each day I should remind myself of what counts, and what doesn't. 

As I reflect on this I have to admit that I have let small things that happen rob my happiness. I really need to consider how much of what I’m worrying about right now is really going to matter tomorrow. I’ve seen where lots of things I thought would be a big deal, end up being nothing or quickly forgotten. What I need to keep in mind is to not sweat the small stuff. I pray this morning Father for this reminder to permeate my life, not only today but into the future. I ask for your wisdom and guidance for today in my work, my leadership and my interaction with others. These things I pray in your Son Jesus name, amen.