Please Pass the Biscuits

We Are Blessed by Blessing Others

I love biscuits and gravy! I often tease that gravy is my favorite food group. Any “breadage” follows close behind — especially biscuits. I can honestly stuff myself with this delicious delicacy — especially since my wife makes the best biscuits and gravy in the whole wide world!” When our kids and grandkids come for a visit, my wife usually makes a big batch of biscuits and gravy for the whole clan to enjoy at one of our breakfasts. It's not a food frenzy, but I will say that not a whole lot of talking happens when we are eating my wife’s biscuits and gravy. Hmmm… I wonder if she’ll fix some for breakfast tomorrow?

As wonderful as it is to eat biscuits and gravy, it is also awesome to look across the table and see others enjoying them as well. But, what happens when you think you are going to run out of biscuits before everyone has enough? This is a major disaster! An international incident! The is terrible! And, if I’m not careful, I will go into preservation mode, and think that there may not be enough biscuits left for me to smoother them in gravy.

I want to be gracious. I want to be giving. I want to be hospitable. But, I want my biscuit! I soon realize that there is only one biscuit left on the plate (my biscuit), and then I hear, “Please pass the biscuits.” What do I do? How do I respond? Do I challenge my granddaughter to arm wrestle for the last biscuit? No! I do what Jesus would do! I give away the final biscuit!

Why? Why would I give away the last biscuit? Because I am trying to live like Jesus. As followers of Christ, we are called to emulate Him. We are called to become more like him in our thoughts, words, and actions. The Apostle puts it this way:

In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.
— Philippians 2:5 NCV 

Other translations say that we are to have the “mind of Christ.” But what does that mean? What does thinking and acting like Jesus look like? Well, Paul doesn’t leave us hanging. He goes on to paint us a picture of what thinking and acting like Jesus looks like.

Christ himself was like God in everything.
But he did not think that being equal with God
was something to be used for his own benefit.
But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing.
He was born as a man and became like a servant.
And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself
and was fully obedient to God,
even when that caused his death-death on a cross.
— Philippians 2:6-8 NCV 

Paul gives us the “Cliff Notes” version of Jesus' life in this passage. But it is certainly enough to get us started in living like Jesus. Four adjectives describe Jesus ’ thinking and doing in these verses.

1. Humble
   Jesus, as the second person of the Trinity, was present in heaven before he became human. He was all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. He was worshiped, honored, and praised by the angels. Yet, he humbled himself, taking on the human body of a man.

2. Unselfish
   Jesus was unselfish in considering our plight as sinners separated from God, prioritizing us over his equality with God. His love for us manifested through this unselfishness. He thought of us, which he created in his image, above staying in heaven.

3. Obedient
   Jesus also was obedient to the Father. All through the Gospels (especially John), he shares with his disciples how that he must be obedient to the Father. In the pivotal scene in Garden of Gethsemane, he knows the pain and anguish before him in an excruciating death on the cross. Yet, he says to the Father, ”Not my will, but yours.”

4. Sacrificial
   The final characteristic that Paul gives us in these few verses is sacrificial. Jesus sacrificed his life twice for us. First, he left his “life” or immortality in heaven to put on the mortal shell of a man. Then, he sacrificed his life as an offering for our separation from God by our sin.

So, how do we live out these four characteristics of Jesus? How do we become like him in these four ways? Volumes have been written on this passage. Thousands of sermons have been preached on it. So, what are some simple, tangible action steps we can take today?

First comes our attitude! If we do not really want to become like Jesus, then it doesn’t matter how we think or act! But if we are serious about being formed into his image, becoming more like him, then Holy Spirit will enable us to live it out. Right before the verses that tell of Jesus being humble, unselfish, obedient, and sacrificial, Paul exhorts the Philippian Believers to “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3 CSB). How do we do that? How do we “do nothing out of seliah ambition?” Here are four practical ways — two do’s and two don’ts.

1. Do consider others before yourself
   Do nothing… out of selfishness or pride. Instead, “consider others as more important than yourselves.” Did you get that? How can we overcome our inner desire to be first, to come out on top, to be number one? It can’t be done! Well, yes, it can! But the only way that we can do it is through the power of the Holy Spirit. He can empower us to consider others first by instilling in us a heart of love.

2. Don’t take the last biscuit
   I want it! I need it! I have to have it! Why? Because I am the most important person in the room. After all, I am the dad and granddad! Yet, I am nothing compared to a holy, righteous, all-powerful, all-present, all-knowing God. Selfishness is inherent in our humanity, but Holy Spirit is present in our lives! Again, through the wonderful power of God, we can put others before ourselves.

3. Do what God says is the right thing to do
   Christians have a tendency to throw around religious words. Words like “righteousness.” What does it really mean to be righteous? It simply means that we do the right thing. And, the right thing is always what God wants us to do. Jesus sai that if we love him we wiil obey him. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be obedient and do what is right.

4. Don’t get too comfortable             
   It is too easy to get comfortable with money, time, and dare I say eating biscuits and gravy. We begin to get the idea that all we have is really ours. But that is not true! Everything you and I have we have because of God. We do not “own” anything. God owns it all. He has simply allowed us to manage the resources he provides. The best way to manange them is to use them to reflect his grace and love.

Every day we are faced with the choice of “looking out for number one” or graciously blessing others through our words and actions. God calls us to live like Jesus by blessing others. When we bless others then we are blessed. That is the way God planned it, so please pass the biscuits.