One Big Pile of Poop

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When I was a kid, someone told the cautionary tale of boating and fishing in the Ohio River.

They said that one day there were boating and fishing on the river. When it was time to go, they got the boat up close to the dock to get it out of the water and back on the trailer. The problem was the book got stuck in the shallow water. So the man got out of the boat and plunged into knee deep mud. We waded through the mud and water to get the boat in. Except that it wasn't mud. It was human waste that came from the treatment plant just up the river. It was the last time he went in the river to fish.

Yes, that is a very disgusting story. He claimed it to be true. No, I never boated or swam or got close enough to the Ohio River after that to test his theory. From then on I just imagine the mounds of poop deposited just off the bank and in the water.

In Philippians 3:1-11, Paul talks about all his accomplishments. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, of the tribe of Benjamin and had a zeal for the law. If anyone could be saved by their religious resume, it would be Paul. And yet, he called it all rubbish compared to what he gained in Christ.

The Greek word translated as rubbish is a word that means animal excrement. In other words, it means poop. Paul said all that he had was a pile of poop compared to what he gained with Christ. With all his accomplishments, he had a lot of religion, but no relationship. With Christ, he had a relationship with God.

Too often we put our worth in what we have and what we do. Our identity is tied up in our work or our degrees or in our titles. Paul says that stuff is worthless, like a big pile of poop. Instead, our worth is found in Jesus Christ, who saves us.

What is your hope in? It is in Jesus or is it in a big pile of poop?

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