Are you a copycat or a copy-Christ?

When I was young kid, it was an insult to be called a copycat. We used it to mock someone who copied someone’s clothes, or actions, or words.

But being a copycat isn’t just something we see in children. Whether we like to admit it or not, we all copy someone to some degree. Whether we’re aware of it or not, we are copying others, following their example, influenced by them. They are our models and we are their mimics. That’s fine when they are good examples but disastrous when they’re bad examples.

Paul saw this danger in Philippi. But instead of simply saying “Stop copying others,” he said, “Choose better models.” Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us (17). He sets himself up as a good model and warns about bad models. Paul’s asking the Philippians and us, “Who is your model?”

Listen here.

Forty years ago, I went on a mountain climbing camp with my church. On the first day we tried to climb one of the highest mountains in the Scottish Highlands. It was especially tough because most of the city-kids had ever climbed a mountain before.

After hours of agonizing ascent, I still remember getting to what I thought was the peak only to realize that it was a plateau before the real peak, which was probably another hour of even harder climbing. Most of us decided enough was enough and decided that the flat plateau would be our peak. But there were a few kids, mostly farm boys, who used the plateau as an opportunity to rest and renew before pressing on to the real summit.

In every area of life, most people plateau, while a few press on to the summit. Most just settle for mediocrity, but others refuse to settle and press on to peaks of excellence. It’s the same in the spiritual life. There are plateau Christians and there are peak Christians. How can we make sure we are peak Christians rather than plateau Christians? Let’s join the Apostle Paul on his climb to the summit in Philippians 3:12-16.

Listen here.

The number one reason people do not become Christians is the fear of what they will lose. I remember going through that calculation myself when the Lord was calling me to Christ in my early twenties. “But I’ll lose my job, my friends, my reputation, and my Sundays. Above all, I’ll lose my sins, my sinful pleasures and habits.” No matter how many times I tried to add it up, and get a different answer, it always came out the same: too much to lose and too little to gain. So, I resisted and resisted.

Thankfully, God helped me recalculate my losses, just as he did with the Apostle Paul. Paul puts this better than I can in Philippians 3:8-11, so let’s see his working on the problem of “What will I lose if I become a Christian?”

Listen here.

At family devotions, Shona will sometimes say, “David I don’t think Scot knows what that word means.” Usually, it’s something I think is really basic and just assume that Scot knows. Shona’s usually right and therefore I have to try and explain this basic word or concept. The strange thing is that I usually learn in the process! There’s something about trying to answer basic questions that’s helpful for everyone.

In Philippians 3:2-8, Paul has to answer the most basic question for the Philippians: What is a Christian? How do I know if I’m a Christian? Let’s learn together with the Philippians as Paul goes back to basics.

Listen here.

I once wrote a book called The Happy Christian. Many of my Christian friends and colleagues in the ministry viewed me as suspect when they heard about it. They thought I’d “gone all Joel Osteen,” as one of them put it.

Another narrowed his eyes and asked, “What are you trying to do, David?”

“Make Christians happy!” I answered. You’d have thought I’d denied the resurrection.

“How can I be happy?” is the most fundamental human question. It’s what drives every human being. God allows as to answer it in a Christian way. In fact, he provides the Christian answer in Philippians 3:1.

Listen here.

Where do you find satisfaction? What fills you? What gives you pleasure and fulfillment? What makes you feel ‘in the zone’? You’ve tried many things haven’t you? So have I. I’ve ended up where you may be today. Having tried multiple ways to find satisfaction, I always ended up empty rather than filled. How can I find satisfaction? In Philippians 2:17-30, Paul stuns us with a surprising answer. The way to satisfaction is to satisfy others. The way to filling is emptying self to fill others.

At first glance, these verses don’t look too important. They seem to cover some personnel matters, with Paul arranging some substitutes for himself while he’s in prison. But if instead of skipping over them, we pause to dig into them, we realize that Paul is using even these staffing adjustments to teach the Philippians unity and service.

Listen here.