Biscuits and Gravy

Okay… let’s see if you can follow my convoluted thinking on this one.  Remember that you’re reading the thoughts of a lifelong children’s and youth leader here!  My wife and I are those older folks that still enjoy watching a fun Disney and similar teen movies because of the interaction between the characters along with the songs and hip hop dancing.  One of my newest favorites is the movie “Pitch Perfect” that came out in the last year or so.  My wife seems to come alive when she watches the music and dance in these flicks.  She still enjoys an old western as well and was captivated as we watched an old John Wayne movie that I had recorded on the Turner Classic Movie Channel last night.

But back to my line of thought this morning… As I read from I Corinthians 14:1 which instructs us to, “Pursue love…” (God’s Word ©), I suddenly recalled Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane’s famous line from the old Dukes of Hazard show whenever he got to flip on the red lights and chase the Duke boys exclaiming “Oooh, Oooh, Hot Pursuit!  I love it!”  The memory of those wild and crazy chase scenes which usually ended up with the Sheriff’s car smashed against a tree, in the Hazard Pond or wedged in the branches of an old Oak tree, got me thinking about the southern states in our country and their love for biscuits and gravy for breakfast!  Makes perfect sense, right?

The breakfast staple of buttermilk biscuits covered with a thick white sausage gravy always surprised me when we lived in Oklahoma.  Any time you go to a restaurant it is on the menu… and not just for breakfast!  I am not sure if it is just my California semi-health consciousness outlook on eating or what, but the thought of all that fat and cholesterol laden gravy normally caused me to smirk and shake my head!  Don’t get me wrong… I am sure that it is delicious… but still… it was just very different for me.  I don’t think I ever gave in to the temptation to try it, so it is probably best that I don’t say anymore!

The picture of Sheriff Coltrane chasing the Dukes through the country side, over twisting narrow mountain roads and jumping across anything that got in their way led me to see the significance of Paul’s idea of pursuing Godly love no matter what tries to distract you from acting according to God’s way of life.  Thayer’s tells us that to “pursue” something literally means “to seek after eagerly, earnestly in one’s endeavor to acquire it.”  Webster’s dictionary defines it as “to follow with a view to overtake, to follow with haste or to chase.”  And in John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible we see a similar correlation to Sheriff Roscoe to “follow hard after it, with an eagerness used in hunting, and with such violence as persecutors express in pursuing and laying hold on those they seek after.”

In other words, the pursuit of Godly love is a calculated and planned process that takes great concentration and continuous effort and dedication.  The Easy to Read translation of the Bible states I Corinthians 14:1 as “Love should be the goal of your life.”  Many commentators tell of Paul’s efforts to get his readers to understand the importance of Godly love as the central and most important effort of their lives.  The Message Bible goes even further saying: “Go after a life of love as if your life depends on it – because it does.”  That makes it kind of clear and distinct doesn’t it?  Not much left to say after that comment!

In talking about love and the use of the gifts, Paul went on to say in I Corinthians 14:3 that our words and actions should build up, encourage and comfort those to whom we interact with.  Everything we do should be led and fed by Godly love.  I think Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane would say that we should “Love ‘em and not Stuff ‘Em and Cuff ‘Em” with our words and actions!”

What do you think?  That might just be a good question to ask yourself every time you begin to react to a situation… Before you act ask yourself if your words and actions are going to Build up, Encourage and Comfort or are they going to “Cuff ‘Em and Stuff ‘Em?  That saying might seem a little funny, but I guarantee that it will get you thinking!  Have a great weekend.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What or Whom am I expecting today?”