Those that know me know that faith is important to me and I try to let it lead what I say and do – yea I often fail but that does not mean I do not seek my faith to inform my actions. One area that I am often asked about, mostly by those with little to no interest in fitness, is if I should workout as much as I do as it might interfere with my calling of God. Often I think this questions stems from a misunderstanding of vocation, or calling, as cannot God call us to any number of activities with the goal of His glory being in all those actions.
While 1 Cor 9:24-27 applies to much more than simply the physical it is also not limited to the spiritual as far too many professing believers seem to think that our bodies are temporary so are to be taken as they are with little thought put into how we treat them. But this could not be further from the truth. While God has us here we are to care for/steward our physical bodies as well as nurture the spiritual side of things
I started reading Ben Greenfield’s book Endure and he mentions a verse that I often see greatly misinterpreted/misrepresented, not by Ben, when it comes to Christians and fitness and prompted this post:
1 Tim 4:8-9 says: “for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.”
Now some use this verse to somehow say that to workout and get in shape is of no use as we are to spend all of our time, or at least implying this, in spiritual endeavors. Now to be honest I hear this mostly from those who do little to nothing to better, or even maintain, one’s health. The problem is that this passage does not minimize training ones body but instead uses what I call hyperbolic comparison - that is it is saying that in comparison to seeking godliness training ones body is of little value. This is much like Matt 10:37 that says basically if ones loves their father or mother more than Christ they are not worthy of Christ. This again is simply saying one is to love Christ supremely when in comparison to others things one loves. It is not saying to hate ones father and mother but simply to love Christ even more in comparison.
So it is with training ones body - we are not to do so at the expense of spiritual growth and are to make sure we see the lasting value of spiritual growth. However, at the same time we are to also train our bodies and care for them as the stewards of them we are called to be by God – one of the callings we all have. Remember the better shape we are in the more use we can be in the hands of God. If we are restricted by bad health or reliant on medication our usefulness may be minimized. I am not saying one with bad health, or some infirmity, cannot be used by God – they can and often are mightily – but that we are to do all we can to be in the best shape we can to be able to be used in more ways by God for His glory.
Truth is Paul in his writings is often dealing with the hyper focus of the Romans on sport and training. The reality is that the normal/average every day citizen probably needed little training to be fit as the basic act of living in the first century would, in comparison to today, itself be training. I doubt that obesity was an issue for those in the first century, and for many up to even the resent past, unless, one was wealthy. I would go as far as to say it is incumbent on Christians to care for the body God gave them as best as can be done so that it, and you, can be used by God in whatever manner He desires, when He desires. How many professing believers out there that scoff at this could spread God’s word as Paul did by traveling as he did without the aid of a car or other motorized transportation. If tomorrow as a believer you lost everything and had to do manual labor to grow your own food and had to travel by foot or bike could you do that or would you be at the whim of those in power. I know, sadly, many pastors that could not due to not taking care of themselves - often in the name of doing God’s work but in the end would be limited in the work God could have for them.
Well, the work God has for us extends to many areas - no - it extends to all areas - of life as was said by Abraham Kuyper and I know this was more in reference to interacting with the world but by extension can be applied to our bodies - ““There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”
So, my encouragement to you if you are a believer and have Jesus as your Lord and Savior is to not neglect your body and think that to do so is some sort of super spiritual endeavor. Sure, do not let “fitness” take over your life at the expense of time with God but work to do both as both are required. In these strange times we are in I am more and more convinced that the more healthy we are as believers as the world slips into a pharmaceutical haze the more those of us that do what we can do to avoid this will be there when we are needed.
Start today - go for a walk, a ride or a run and use your time wisely - listen to your Bible on tape, listen to sermons, listen to books on audio and even more so meditate on God’s working in your life. But above all get moving. I may not always do this but often I get in more thinking on a run or a ride than I do when just sitting still. I know I need to learn to just be still but the way my brains wired I think more about things as I am active - so I try and do both.
This principle of caring for the body also applies to how one eats – what one puts into it. I have heard more than one person misuse the following verse to say whatever one eats is fine if eaten in faith but this is not what is being said.
1 Tim 4:4-5 says: “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”
No this is saying to be thankful for what one has and was dealing with dietary restrictions from a religious perspective. There is no way this verse is saying if you eat Oreos, or endless stacks of donuts, as a normal occurrence/choice, that if done by faith you are fine. Sure, if you were in a place where all you had to eat was such then that is a different matter but for most the choice of what to eat is just that – a choice. Choose wisely and choose what will most lead to better health and the avoidance of pills, potions and pokes. Do not take the life you are given lightly but see it as the gift of God it is – even if it does not do all you may like it to do. Our call is to be good stewards of what God gives us and let us seek to do that.
Do not forsake the body God gave you to steward for some over spiritualized , at the neglect of the physical, view of life. Don’t fall for the Gnostic heresy that the writers of the NT faced that separated the spiritual from the physical. No, deal with both and grow closer to God in the process. Seek out God’s guidance in how you need to proceed and seek to be the most useful tool in the hands of God you can be. Be a faithful steward and do so not to win a race but to glorify God. Now you may win races – nothing wrong with that – but even that is to be done to give God glory. To take the stewardship of our bodies lightly is to make light of what God has given us.
Start today and if you need help reach out to those you know that see things this way or you can reach out to me.
