Rubbish.

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

So I was reading again in that Piper guy's book (When I Don't Desire God) just now about how we should desire to know Christ in such a way, that everything else including prestige, power, money, all of that should be things that we allow to fall to the wayside because we desire so badly to follow Christ.  It's some pretty powerful stuff. Again, another post convicting me of a spiritual attitude and approach to life. I love it, honestly.

In light of the thoughts I had concerning Christmas and the birth of renewed Hope, how does this make me feel? It's an interesting question given Christmas and the tradition of giving gifts. Sure I want cool stuff and this is the time of the year that most of us are guaranteed to get some cool "stuff", but isn't it just that? Stuff? Do any of us really need more stuff in our lives? Do any of us actually and truly desire more stuff? Or is the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ and sharing in the persecution and therefore the resurrection what we truly desire? I know the right answer to this question, but I can't say I always live it...