We don't need a helping hand, we need to be rescued. That's what Paul is telling his friends. He realized that he needed more than he could find in himself. He needed more than the law could provide. He needed someone or something to do something he could never do on his own. He need a righteousness from outside, something foreign to him, an alien righteousness. He had tried and failed to be okay with God on his own. He realized he didn't need advice, he didn't need a helping hand, he needed to be rescued; he needed to be saved. That's why he is willing to reject everything for faith in Jesus. Memorize this.