Invitation
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
1 Peter 4:9
There are a lot of uncomfortable chairs in the world which is confusing because you would think that the primary role of a chair would be comfort.
I wasn't blessed with natural padding. While some are born with a gluteus maximus. I was born with a gluteus minimus. so a chair's comfort is important to me. I often feel like Goldilocks. She sits in two chairs of the Bear home which are too big until she finds the one that is just right.
Some of the worst seats are bleachers, school desks, wooden pews, riding lawn mowers, the throne from Game of Thrones. Side note: they had a replica at Comic Con and it may look cool but you don't feel like a king sitting in it. Why would anyone fight to sit in this pillow-less seat?
Some chairs are purely decorative. They are built for the eyes and not the thighs.
I was so excited when I found out that the local movie theater was getting recliners.
A comfy chair invites a person to linger. To hang out for a while. Some of the best chairs are found in the living room. They are so inviting you actually want to live there.
Some of the worst chairs are found in the kitchen. They are fine for eating, mingling, but you don't want to watch a movie in one of them unless you enjoy the tingling sensation of your legs falling asleep. Uncomfortable chairs are often used strategically by restaurants to encourage a person to eat, tip and free the seat up for the next paying costumer. Several cities have implemented "Anti homeless chairs" in public areas. They are round so a person can't sleep on them.
Why am I talking so much about chairs?
I've been wrestling with the question of what kind of chair is my personality. How inviting am I?
Is my personality a comfy chair? Do I invite people to linger? Or do people want to get up as quickly as possible?
When I refuse to put down my cellphone while someone is trying to talk to me, I'm not a comfy chair.
When I lean away from the conversation by inching towards the door, packing up my work bag or dropping hints that I'm in a hurry, I'm not being a comfy chair.
When I "one up" the person's bad day by telling them how much worse mine was, I'm not being a comfy chair.
In great contrast, Jesus had a way of making people want to linger, to feel okay with interrupting him. He was the perfect host. If his personality was a chair, in the words of Goldilocks, he was "just right."
Let's strive to be inviting like Jesus.
