I Would Do Anything to Lose Weight

Philippians 3:7,8 Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for . . .  the surpassing worth of knowing Christ . . . I have suffered the loss of all things . . . that I may gain Christ.

In my addictions to food and drugs, I told myself that I would do anything to change. That was a lie. I wanted transformation but I remained unwilling to do anything. I thought that change happened by asking God to magically alter my desires. In my pursuit of change by thought, I did nothing and nothing changed.

Though Paul was not talking about diet or drugs in today’s passage, his story does reveal what transformation looks like. This was no mental exercise. Paul insisted that in comparison to the life he wanted in Christ, everything else was worthless. He gladly gave up everything he had to follow Christ as he considered it all garbage anyway.

Paul believed and lived out that belief. He did not just have a thought about God’s will and pray for it to be done. He went out and did God’s will. He believed and obeyed.

Likewise, if I want radical change, I must be willing to do whatever it takes to abandon the garbage of my life to follow Christ. This is not just a mental exercise. I promise, I will eat better tomorrow. This is cleaning out the cupboard, getting rid of the junk and changing the structure of my life.

Frankly, most of us want change but remain unwilling to do what it takes to get there. We want skinny but we do not want to eat right or exercise. We want God but we remain willing to abandon our garbage to pursue him. We would rather say a thousand prayers, begging for change, than to do one thing about our condition.

A thought or desire for change is not the same as change. Faith is not positive thinking. Faith is a belief coupled to action. I change my life and come to know God only by doing whatever it takes to abandon my garbage in exchange for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.