The Siren Call of the Recliner

One of my ongoing personal challenges is the siren call of the recliner. It beckons me to sit, put my feet up, relax, rest, and just “chill.” It is a place of comfort and easy distraction. It faces the TV, and it has a phone charger nearby. It requires nothing, demands nothing, and asks nothing except my presence… And I like it.

But it can also become a trap. “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest…” can easily become a snare. Instead of growing in fitness, skill, knowledge, and usefulness to God, we can slowly rest our way into apathy. We can become increasingly unwilling to change and unwilling to be changed by God.

I’m loving our study in Romans 5. I am still meditating on the implications of our continued standing in grace and what that means for me as I follow Christ. And I cannot get away from Titus 2:11–12: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us [or instructing us] to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.”

Grace does not make us passive. Grace trains us. The same grace that saves us also teaches us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions. It trains us to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives right now, in this present age. Paul says something similar in 1 Timothy 4:7: “Train yourself for godliness.” The word translated “train” there is the Greek word gymnazo, from which we get words like “gymnasium” and “gymnastics.” It carries the idea of intentional, disciplined, strenuous effort. And that certainly does not sound easy.

Of course, Paul is not primarily promoting physical exercise. He goes on to say, “while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way” (1 Timothy 4:8). But the parallels are undeniable. Growth requires training. Godliness requires discipline. Maturity does not happen by accident.

So, friends, I readily affirm that recliners are good. They have their place, and they can be enjoyed with thanksgiving. Rest is a gift from God. But comfort can become a master.

So let me challenge you: get up and get busy. We have been given a purpose: to glorify God by making mature disciples. That requires that we grow in godliness. It requires that we work to establish and strengthen godly habits, godly traits, and godly patterns of thinking. It requires that we intentionally invest in the lives of one another.

Like training for a competition or preparing for race day, there is a finish line before us. I hope we can identify with Paul’s passion in Colossians 1:28: to proclaim Christ, “warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

So enjoy the recliner.

But do not live there.

Grace has saved us. Grace is training us. And by God’s grace, let’s get up and grow.