After a hard week in school, we would get to shovel manure every Saturday. Later in life I heard that my peers would watch cartoons, sleep in or play games. Poor souls. There is nothing like getting up early on a Saturday morning, grabbing a pitchfork and wheelbarrow, and moving a ton of manure!
Pigs, chicken, rabbits, and all the other animals we had make manure fifty-two weeks a year. They never stop. No vacations. No cleaning up after themselves. That was our job. We would shovel it from the animal pens to outside piles that would later be spread on fields.
I grew to have a great disdain for manure. It is filthy, smelly, and worthless.
The Bible word for it is dung. It was used by the apostle Paul in a description of his past. In Philippians 3:4-8, Paul said, “If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless."
“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,”
In a nutshell he made two bold statements:
First – His education without Christ was like manure.
Second – His religion without Christ was like manure.
When you really think of it, without Christ, all education and religion will do is send someone to hell first class.
Christ is the only way to escape. Salvation is in Christ – not in the most devout religion or the best education. Have you turned your back on these (repented) and put your trust in Christ?
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
