Cut the Crap

Are you sometimes at a loss for words? I mean, are there moments when our “civilized” vocabulary doesn’t quite describe the gravity of the situation? “Oh darn” doesn’t really convey the truth when you drop a hammer on your foot and it breaks a toe. In like manner, the apostle Paul bashes his former way of life; a life fixated on following religious rules. He stated in his letter to the Philippians, “For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.”

Wow, “garbage” ... yawn. Well, in the Greek, the word that’s translated into “garbage” by the nice Bible translators is not a nice word at all.

It’s a vulgar term for crap.

There was definitely some shock value to what Paul said to those in the early church. He was making a point as strongly as he possibly could:

A life lived following the rules for the sake of following the rules is a WASTED life!

At the beginning of this New Year, take stock of your life. How do you want to grow? What crap needs to be cut out? What does it mean for you to become one with Christ? What will it take? Where will it take you?