What did Paul give up in order to preach the gospel?
Paul left all his material wealth behind, counted it as nothing, and turned his back on everything—including his high standing in the Judaistic religion—to take the Gospel to pagan, ungodly, immoral Gentiles. The context suggests he likely lost his wife, and possibly a son, due to his sold-out commitment to Christ.
Les teaches that Paul was totally sold out to God, and in order to take the Gospel he left all his material wealth behind him and counted it but dumb. Les explains that Paul was a member of the Sanhedrin, which required having a wife and family, so as a result of being sold out to Christ he probably lost his wife—she likely turned against him—and possibly even a son. Whatever the case, Paul turned his back on everything in order to take the Gospel to the pagan, ungodly, immoral Gentiles. Les also notes that the more Paul loved the Corinthians, the more they turned against him, preferring Peter because Peter had been with Christ.