“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).

Do you think a lot about the future? How much time do you spend dwelling on your past or zeroing in on the present? Stanford University professor emeritus Philip Zimbardo has spent over a decade researching our view of time, concluding that our attitude about time affects our decision-making as much as any personality trait.

In Philippians 3, the Lord again trains our hearts for joyful perseverance, teaching us how a mature disciple must think. How should we view our past achievements? How do we overcome our past failures? How do we address the challenges of today while keeping our eyes on “the prize” (Phil. 3:14)? This chapter holds life-changing insights about the challenges every person faces. As we have seen throughout the book, it all comes down to FOCUS.

How to Be Safe

Philippians 3 begins with a command to “rejoice” (Phil. 3:1), but why does he keep bringing up joy (Phil. 1:4,18,25,28; 2:2,17,18,29; 4:1,4)? Joy might be good for our mood, relationships, and health. But Paul wants us to rejoice for another reason: our security. Rejoicing can safeguard us from spiritual danger. Christian joy isn’t a fickle emotion. It comes from choosing to see through the eyes of faith. That ongoing choice protects us from giving up the faith. Choosing gratitude, hope, and trust shields us from all the resentment, depression, doubt, arguing, complaining, and other temptations that rain down on us. God’s design is to protect us from the storm through rejoicing in Him (Neh. 8:10). As the saying goes, “The best defense is a good offense.”

Choosing gratitude, hope, and trust shields us from all the resentment, depression, doubt, arguing, complaining, and other temptations that rain down on us.

The next command Paul gives for our safety is to “look out” (Phil. 3:2). The Philippian church would face false teachers saying they needed circumcision and the law for salvation. Paul calls these teachers “dogs” while we’re the “circumcision,” God’s true covenant people (Phil. 3:2-3). Paul could beat them at their own game if they felt pride in their fleshly credentials. As a circumcised Israelite, trained by the best, unrivaled in zeal, he could boast in his trophy wall, but that’s not how he sees it (Phil. 3:5-6). The difference is what he valued.

How to Count

Paul evaluates his life like a bank account, counting gains and shortfalls. He estimates his fleshly credentials as a loss rather than gains, for Christ’s sake (Phil. 3:7). Nothing compares to the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:8). Like the “pearl of great price” (Matthew 13:45-46), Christ is worth giving everything to gain! Using a strong, gross Greek word, he says it’s all “rubbish” (Phil. 3:8). We can’t miss the power of this statement. Whatever you prize most in the flesh — all your achievements and possessions — amount to a pile of filth compared to Christ. 

So what do you value? Can you let go of esteem and comfort to share Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection? Is your glory in your past, your present, or your future? How often do you think about our great resurrection day? Will you, with Paul, do whatever it takes to “by any means possible attain the resurrection of the dead” (Phil. 3:11)? Both “the righteous and the unrighteous” will rise again (Acts 24:15), but not to the same destiny, for “an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29). Paul lives for that resurrection to life with Christ. May we set our eyes on that day, too!

How to Press On

Finally, Paul shows us how to view our spiritual progress. He knows he hasn’t arrived. He’s in the middle of a race, so he has to do “this one thing” (3:13): to “press on toward the goal” (3:14). This singular task addresses our past, present, and future. It requires “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” (Phil. 3:13) while we “hold true to what we have attained” (3:16). On our path to maturity, we can never let our old habits pull us backward, and never let regrets weigh us down. We race toward meeting Jesus at the finish line. Run with your eyes on others heading the same way (Phil. 3:17), knowing dangerous influences surround us. Many have “minds set on earthly things” (3:19) while we live as citizens of heaven and await the King’s return (Phil. 3:20). Where is your mind? If we keep our minds above with Christ, one day Christ “will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body” (3:21) — what a day! Through Christ, we can leave our past behind us (Phil. 3:13) and joyfully journey through our present days focused on a future glory beyond comparison (Rom. 8:18)!