What was Paul's life like before following Christ?
Before following Christ, Paul's life was marked by a lucrative position in Judaism and a rather expensive lifestyle. He likely had a family and a beautiful home in Jerusalem. He later counted all these former advantages as dung for the sake of the gospel.
Les explains that Paul's past in Judaism was no doubt rather lucrative, and he probably had a rather expensive lifestyle. Les suggests Paul had a family and a beautiful home in Jerusalem. He called it all but dung for the sake of the gospel, meaning he regarded his former privileges and possessions as worthless. His life was no longer his own; he had long pitched that, laboring for the Lord's reward.