Chinese saint Watchman Nee once told of a brother he knew who had worked many years for his doctorate degree. Though he was well prepared for the final examination, he felt the Lord strongly urging him to forgo it. It was not that there was anything wrong with having the degree: God simply showed him that He had no use for a PhD, but much use for an obedient servant. After some struggle, the brother yielded to the Holy Spirit, gave up the degree he had earned, and found his ministry immeasurably blessed as a result.
Sadly, most of us in the Western church would never consider doing what this brother did. We prize education, influence, and prosperity no less than the unsaved world does, and it seems somewhat shocking to hear Paul refer to those things as "dung." The apostle's own Jewish credentials would have been the envy of his countrymen (Phil. 3:4-6), yet he counted them less than nothing, and utter rubbish, compared to the privilege of knowing Jesus Christ and participating in his Righteousness.
We would be wise to follow Paul's example, and set our sights higher than temporal achievements that will soon be forgotten, and one day destroyed along with the earth itself. (2 Pet. 3:10-12) To know Jesus Christ – that is the treasure no one can take away. It is to know the One who spoke the universe into existence, and to be his sons and daughters, for all eternity.
All Scripture references from KJV. Commentary ©2012 Hitchcock Family Ministry. Unaltered text may be reproduced freely without financial gain. Original commentary and Scripture song available at http://www.freescripturesongs.org/yea-doubtless-and-i-count-all-things-but-loss.