The Posture of Sin
I can still hear the various voices in my head that would constantly deal with the issue of posture in my life. I can hear the "Sit up straight" from my mom. I can hear "Stand up straight" from dad when we would try on a shoes or slacks or when preparing to meet someone. Others would demand that shoulders be thrust up and back. I was taught that posture was important to maintain a healthy physique and public opinion. However, as I have grown older I catch myself slumping in my chair and leaning when I stand. I seldom ever think about straightening to full height and pulling back shoulders and sucking in stomach. Posture just hasn't been on my mind until I started thinking about this new year. I want to challenge you that as we launch into this brand new year that we need to reconsider and possibly examine our posture spiritually if we desire to make it through this year in an upright manner. I want to talk to you about The Posture of Sin.
Text: Psalm 1:1-2
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
and for fun verse 1 out of the Message Bible.
How well God must like you—you don’t hang out at Sin Saloon, you don’t slink along Dead-End Road, you don’t go to Smart-Mouth College.
David, in a very precise manner, deals with posture and when you reflect on what he says in reverse he shows us how to avoid sin by making sure that we don't posture ourselves for sin!
In reverse he says don't sit in the company of mockers. Don't stand in the way of sinners. And then he ramps things up and says we are blessed when we don't walk in step with the wicked. He in fact, shows us the posture that leads to sin and the posture that leads to our promise!
1.Sit
David shows us that sin doesn't start on the day you sin! There are times it seems that someone just wakes up and decides to go off the deep end. Faithful one day and a freak the next. Committed one day and then compromised the next. A good spouse one day and then a dead beat the next. A good friend one day and a full-fledged enemy the following. However, David's posture lessons shows us that these actions start with sitting.
Sitting speaks to intimacy. You don't normally sit, spend extended time and close fellowship with those you don't know. This idea of sitting carries with it the idea of prolonged exposure. Daily interaction.
Gone is the idea of avoiding the very appearance of evil. This is the "I am stronger than the temptation" posture. I can handle the environment. I am beyond influence. So therefore I can sit down and without even realizing it I lay down my guard, I embrace tendencies, I grab onto the beliefs and ideals that once I would have been careful to avoid.
Too many of us are now seated with things and with people that we would have run from prior to this. And David says if you sit, then one day your walk will be impacted.
It is the truth of the frog in the kettle. It is the slowly increased heat that kills. It is the long term influence of what you sit in, around, and with that reaches forward and adjusts your walk.
So as we enter 2014, my question is "Where are you seated? Who are you intimate with? What has your attention? What has gained your trust so that you are now comfortable to invest time?" David implores us to be extremely careful with where and who we sit. He understood that the posture of sin starts with sitting.
Some of you need to check your posture and you need to stand up. You have been seated under the influence of a certain person, a certain addiction, a habit for way too long. It is time to start correcting the posture and stand up! Because standing up from the seated position will ultimately lead you to walking right!
2. Standing
David continues and says there is a second dangerous posture. It isn't as intimate as being seated with the wicked. It is standing. It is hanging on at the fringe level. It is the place where we show interest and we are unwilling to break the final ties. It is the "I will just hang out for a little while" stance. It is the "I am here but I am not really here" position. Close enough to be involved but distant enough to believe I can't get trapped. It is the alcoholic that is doing better but still wants to hang out in the bar. It is the person that has had their heart broken but still calls and texts occasionally. It is the porn addict who refuses to install filters or share passwords. It is Peter by the fire hoping to get warm while simultaneously growing colder.
See some of you who used be seated have taken a stand. I won't believe that lie anymore. I won't be bound anymore. I won't be controlled anymore. However, you continue to stay close. You refuse to make a clean, once and for all, do whatever it takes break so that the influence is broken in your life!
Standing is better than being seated but what David knew was that if you continue to stand in the way of sinners you will eventually become seated with the mockers!
Who are you standing with? Who are you standing near? What are you staying close to while hoping that it won't pull you back in? What or who in your life still captures your attention when you should have already walked away completely?
So, David teaches us that our ability to walk uprightly stems from our willingness to quit sitting and standing with those or things that posture us for sin.
Said another way . . . if you don't quit sitting with and standing near those or that which destroys you, then you will be unable to walk away.
3. Walk
David, in fact, is really teaching us that posture either leads to defeat/destruction or victory. He explains that distance is our greatest ally. Our goal must be DISTANCE!
David is clear proximity leads to posturing! We don't sin at distance! Our goal this year cannot be how much can we get away with and still be considered upright and holy. Our goal can't be how close can I keep the person who has repeatedly drug me into drama, turmoil, pain, brokenness. Our goal this year should be to get as much distance between the temptation, the anger, the stress, the drug, the environment and the people that would cause us to stand or sit. We are BLESSED when we walk away!
There are too many of us who can't walk away because our posture of standing (staying close) or sitting (staying intimate) keeps us positioned for bondage and pain. Posture leads to position! We want to walk in freedom but we stand and sit with sin.
So my challenge to you today is to check your posture! Walk! If you are seated . . . stand. If you are standing start walking. It is time to increase distance between you and your besetting sin.
Joseph is the perfect example. A hot chick, who is flirty, and better yet with power to cover up any indiscretion . . . too good to be true right? I mean it wouldn't hurt to stand and look. It wouldn't be bad to sit and stare. No! He creates immediate distance. And because his posture was correct his promise is protected. His destiny isn't destroyed.
Check your posture this morning . . . sit up straight . . . good advise. Stand up straight . . . good advise. Walk away quickly with no hesitation the best advise.
Some of you need to buy you some walking shoes. It is the year to walk away from people and things that continue to destroy.
