Philippians 3:7-8

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

(v7-8, NIV)

We are not to put confidence in the flesh. There are those who oppose the gospel or present false gospels that put confidence in the flesh. They may boast in their circumcision, but we are the true circumcision. Even if they are to boast, Paul lays out his credentials showing that he has more of a reason to boast. However, all these credentials that many would boast in Paul counts as loss. His glowing resume is considered as a loss for the sake of Christ. He doesn't care about his circumcision anymore, he doesn't care about his law keeping anymore, and he doesn't care about his education anymore. These credentials he prided himself in pale in comparison to what he has now. Compared to knowing the Lord Jesus Christ, they are garbage. Jews of the day would have been outraged by that. They would have been perplexed as to how someone could consider any of those things as rubbish. Paul's background and education and achievements were valuable to them. And yet, Paul considers them rubbish. We put no confidence in the flesh.

What's interesting is that Paul says that he considers them rubbish that he may gain Christ. Apparently, considering them to be trash is a necessary requirement. From this I gather that if Paul did not consider those fleshly things to be meaningless, then he could not gain Christ. If we boast in our flesh we cannot gain Christ. It's the idea of trying to grab and carry two things that are physically impossible to carry or grab together. You are only able to grab one or the other. You can put confidence in your flesh and boast about fleshly things, but by doing so you cannot gain Christ. However, if you wish to gain Christ, you must renounce the fleshly things and consider them to be rubbish.

This doesn't mean that we aren't to strive for those things. Sure, earn money and seek wisdom and knowledge. We can seek to have a good job and to be well respected by men. However, these things should not become the main thing in our lives. Christ is the first and foremost in our lives. We are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. We serve him. Compared to knowing Christ, all those things are rubbish.