1 Timothy 4:7-8 – Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
About three weeks ago, I started a new workout routine. Okay, I’ll be honest, about three weeks ago, I started a workout routine. I’m pretty impressed with myself as I haven’t missed a day yet. I’m one of those people who doesn’t necessarily look like I need to work out (or so people tell me), yet I am winded after walking up one flight of stairs. So I made a commitment to myself to get into shape so that I could be healthier and have more energy. Okay, time to be honest again. It’s almost shorts and bathing suit season and I’d like to be presentable to those who will be forced to see me in shorts and bathing suits. I’m not really trying to “impress” anyone (other than my husband) but deep down inside, I do want to look good and healthy on the beach.
With that in mind, my husband and I started a circuit training class last week offered through his employer. It’s a great way for us to work-out together and mix up our exercise routine a little bit too. Following our first class, we were finishing up dinner and opening up our devotional for the evening and the above verse was the heading. As I read those words, “For physical training is of some value, but…” I felt a sense of shame come over me. There I sat devotional on one side of me, workout schedule on the other. I glanced over to the workout schedule and noticed all the check mark’s, notes, and big red stars. I looked back at my devotional….no marks at all. My Bible? Dusty. Hmm, I thought, perhaps I am more “out of shape” than I thought.
I continued reading. “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Timothy 12-13, 15-16).
I started thinking about God’s ultimate purpose for my life and how much time I was really spending pursuing it. While God does expect us and encourage us to take care of our bodies while we’re here on earth, we’re expected to do that upkeep not to impress others, but simply so that we can go on living out His will. After all, after this life, our physical bodies don’t matter. My perfect three weeks of working out will not prevent my neighbor from having a heart attack or lower my best friend’s cholesterol. In other words, my physical fitness progress will not save anyone else. But my biblical fitness, that is a powerful thing. If I am spiritually fit, my teaching, my conduct, my words, my faith, my level of purity all become a testimony to every single person I encounter. And as I encounter them, I have the opportunity to save them.
I am not giving myself wholly to godly things. I have become distracted. I have not been watching my life and my doctrine closely. I have not been persevering. My focus has been on things of this world, not the next. I have spent much more time on bicep curls and triceps extensions than on bible verse memorization. I have run many more miles than the chapters I have read in my Bible. I have tracked my fitness class attendance much more diligently than my bible study or worship service attendance. I have not been training myself to be Godly, as God intended. I am more out of shape than I thought.
Being able to climb a flight of stairs without becoming winded is nothing compared to being able to climb that glorious staircase into heaven and say to my Father, I have persevered.
Be W.H.O.L.E 