When I was in junior high I went to a lot of high school basketball games. I don’t remember a lot from those games but I do remember a conversation two ladies were whispering behind me.  “Oh, look at his posture!” “I know,” the second lady replied. “Isn’t he sitting up straight?”  Yes, it’s odd.  All those basketball games and I remember two ladies talking about my healthy posture.  Honestly, I think I was just trying to get my head as high as I could to see the game.

Our posture is important. Some would say that good posture is as critical to our health as eating, exercise, sleep, and avoiding harmful substances.  Good posture is even a key to success.  As the late, great comedian, Mitch Hedberg said, “If you’re a fish and you want to be a fish stick, you have to have very good posture.”

This is true even in the spiritual realm.  We often talk about our position in Christ but our posture, not as much. Yet our position in Christ will ultimately affect our posture on earth.

Position and posture should go hand in hand.  A baseball player can be standing in the right position but if he is not in the correct posture, the ground ball will go under his glove.

In the same way our position in Christ should always affect our posture on earth.

In the book of Leviticus the Lord speaks to his people and reminds them of their new position in Him and how this gives them a new posture. He says:

“I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.” — Leviticus 26:12-13

No longer slaves in Egypt, the people of Israel have a new position. They have been saved into a relationship with God.  Their position has been changed, which also affects their posture.  No longer slouched over because of the bars weighing them down, their new posture is them walking with their heads held high.

In Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin — our position has changed.  This position gives us a brand new posture.  He broke the bars of the yoke of slavery and gives us the power and the freedom to walk with our heads held high. No longer slaves, no longer slouched over.  We can rejoice over the great things God has done for us and walk in the wake of his victory with our heads held high.

It’s too easy to hang our heads in disappointment.  It’s too common to associate ourselves with defeat.  Whether it’s the shame from our past or the troubles of tomorrow we often hunch over in worry and fear.  I encourage you to change your posture.  God has set us free from the things that tend to weigh us down.

We often talk about our position in Christ but sometimes it’s good to talk about our posture in Him as well.  Remember this as you go through your weekend.  Let your position affect your posture.  Worship with your heads held high.