How Is Your Posture?

Recently, I have read three religious articles using the same phrase, “The Posture of Life.” This immediately caught my attention because I am not accustomed to using the word, “posture” in this way! My physical posture has never been good. Over the years, my mother often said to me, “Mike, pull your shoulders back and stand up straight!” I hear something similar at the doctor’s office these days in those pre-visit weight and height checks! I try, but my back just doesn’t align with the wall the nurse expects me to stand up against as straight as I can! 😊

Getty image: 33 vertebrae

A chiropractor defined the value of good posture this way, “Posture is about the arrangement of your spine, shoulders, and hips and how they interact to distribute the body’s weight efficiently… in a way that supports optimal balance and efficiency. Posture isn’t just about sitting up straight; it’s a fundamental key to overall health.” I see several “key words” in this discussion: arrangement (like spinal vertebrae), distribute, balance, and efficiency.

A few of our family members work mobile and sit in their home offices for prolonged periods of the day while focusing on their computer screens. They have learned to periodically take a break, get up, and move or change positions to protect their backs from stiffness or cramping. The digital age has its advantages, but it has a downside to our health, as well.

To my knowledge, the word “posture” is not used in Scripture though there is much said about kneeling in prayer, standing to read the Bible, or having one’s hands lifted up in worship. Yet, the spiritual applications of arrangement, balance, and efficiency are certainly implied when the Apostle Paul speaks of how God has put the church or body of Christ together.

In his instruction to the Corinthian believers, Paul wrote, “God has arranged the parts of the body, everyone of them, just as he wanted them to be… As it is, there are many parts, but one body… So that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.” By God’s design, there is arrangement, balance, and efficiency in the church. Regarding ministry, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:18, 20, 24-26).

Arthur Jackson, a retired Chicago pastor, writes for Our Daily Bread devotionals. In one of his recent pieces, he used the phrase, “The Posture of Life” in describing what a God-honoring life looks like for the believer. Jackson mentioned Psalm 15:1-2 in his remarks where a blameless and righteous life with truth-speaking make the shortlist of God-honoring characteristics. Jackson also mentions living a life of integrity, sincerity, and love for others.

As I get ready to begin my day, I have a regular practice of praying the Lord’s model prayer and quoting the 23rd Psalm before getting out of bed. I focus particularly on verse three for the goal of my new day, “And lead us in the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake (or for Your glory!).”

Although the word posture is not used specifically, I think of how the posture of Jesus’ life was regarded even as a child, “And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.” Some translations use the word “stature” in describing the physical and spiritual development of Jesus. Paul applied this same word to the maturity of believers, “Until we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13, KJV).

I often say, “I am still on the journey and have a long way to go in my Christian development.” While my goal is to walk in the right paths for God’s glory, I fall short of that each day. I’m so thankful that God continues to work in us patiently and lovingly and through us to build a “posture of life” that is “for His name’s sake” and glory!

Mike Keppler, retired pastor,
active churchman and
doting grandparent.
Contact: drmjkeppler@gmail.com
©2018-2025 All rights reserved.
Serve by Design. mjkministries.com



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Pray and Move Your Feet!"

Image
There is an old West African proverb: “When you pray, move your feet.” I have said something similar in a little different way: “Be careful in your praying. You may be (and often are!) the answer to your own prayer.” Others see this almost as a command to “Put feet to your prayers!” What do we mean by these various sayings? Prayer is not just an important spiritual discipline for the Christian, it often leads to an “in the flesh” response and connection between the pray-er and the prayer request. Prayer and Action! pngimg.com While prayer is one of the spiritual disciplines, this doesn't mean it is just an academic, theoretical or forensic exercise! I have heard it said, "God inhabits the praises of His people." This suggests that it blesses God to hear the praise of His people in prayer. I believe that the Lord gets an even greater blessing when our praying is “incarnated” in devotion, commitment and service for Him. Our best efforts at praying involve action plans to ...
Read more

A Reminder of Hope!

Image
After all these years, I am still filled with joy and feel a childlike giddiness when I see one of God’s colorful “bows” arcing across the sky. I can’t count how many times I have invited family and friends to come to the window or step outside to see the unfolding drama in God’s message of hope in a rainbow arcing across the sky! God's Handiwork! Our son recently sent me a picture that perfectly captures God’s creative handwork in a beautiful rainbow. As is typical, a thunderstorm and downpour drenched his neighborhood. He and his daughter had stepped out the front door to survey for any wind damage. Looking up, they beheld the stunning perfection of dazingly colors in layers of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Many of us have heard about the science of rainbows. Simply stated, they develop as light from the sun is refracted through the water droplets after a rain. Mathematicians add that rainbows are all about geometry. They occur when the sun is low in the...
Read more

Grumpy and Crotchety!

Image
Just the other day, I watched a humorous interview with a preteen. This occurred on an afternoon entertainment news program. What caught my attention in this brief and show-ending feature was that this youth was explaining her bad attitude while riding in the passenger seat of the family car. She was speaking to one of her parents as she made this adult-like excuse, “I’ve been crotchety since I was nine!”  Image: freepik.com I have enjoyed watching the Grumpy Old Men movies (1993, 1995) several times. The original film featured three of my favorite actors: Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, and Ann-Margret, It’s a story of two men, Max Goldman and John Gustafson who are neighbors and lifelong friends that find themselves competing for the affections of a beautiful woman,   Ariel Truax, who lived across the street from both men, Matthau and Lemmon with deadpan humor do a masterful job of bringing their characters to life in an uproariously funny and absurd way! I’ve had my own grum...
Read more