Giving It Up, Trading It In, Writing It Off

This message is part of our series, "If You Wanna Go Up, You Gotta Go Down". Paul reveals that, like us, he was a collector of personal trophies. Things that proved how important, successful and valuable and knowledgeable he was. One day, he had to follow the example of Jesus Christ and empty himself. He realized that trying to impress and coerce people was a dead-end street. He also realized that trying to impress God was a dead-end street.  In fact, he had to leave all his self-righteousness behind–get off the self-improvement plan, the performance plan--and write it off. Give it up, trade it in, write it off as skubala. In the process, he realized how truly pathetic it was in comparison to really knowing Jesus Christ--even to the point of suffering. And we have to do that too. Trade in our pedigree, our performance record, our dazzling image-enhancement, our knowledge quotient–for intimacy with the One who emptied Himself for us.