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 “I CONSIDER THEM AS A LOT OF REFUSE”

10, 11. (a) On what had Paul centered his efforts prior to becoming a Christian? (b) Why did Paul’s objective change completely?

10 Finally, let us consider the example of Paul. Before his conversion to Christianity, he had what seemed to be a promising future. He had studied Jewish law with one of the most famous teachers of his day. He had received authority from the Jewish high priest. And he was making greater progress in Judaism than were many of his contemporaries. (Acts 9:1, 2; 22:3; 26:10; Gal. 1:13, 14) Yet, all of that changed when Paul realized that Jehovah was no longer blessing the Jews as a nation.

11 Paul recognized that a career in the Jewish system had no value from Jehovah’s point of view; it had no future. (Matt. 24:2) This former Pharisee went so far as to say that compared with his new, enlightened understanding of God’s purposes and the privilege of the Christian ministry, what he once thought was important he now considered to be “a lot of refuse.” Paul abandoned his pursuits in Judaism and dedicated the rest of his days on earth to preaching the good news.​—Read Philippians 3:4-8, 15; Acts 9:15.