My wife and I recently joined one of the gyms here in town because we decided we needed to start taking our physical fitness a little more seriously. We’ve been going anywhere from three to five times a week over the last four weeks, and we are both already seeing the benefits of working out on a regular basis. I’ve noticed something interesting on our trips to the gym, and that’s that when we go about the same time everyday, we see almost the same people every time that we go. It makes sense when I think about it, because as human nature, we all tend to do better when we do things in patterns. In other words, it’s becoming habit for us to work out, and it’s habit for those that we see there on a regular basis as well.
When we first started talking about joining the gym, I told my wife that I was willing to take on the extra expense, as long as we regularly go. So far, we have been doing that. You may be wondering why I’m writing about the gym in a faith column. Well it’s really simple when you get down to it. Paul writes to Timothy in I Timothy 4:7-10, “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 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. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.”
It says, train yourself to be godly. There is nothing wrong with physical training, in fact, it says that it is of some value, however, our spiritual training is even more important. The same principle applies to our spiritual training as our physical training. We need to make our spiritual training a habit. In other words, we need to be in the Word of God on a regular basis, we need to attend a gathering of other Christians on a regular basis. We need to be focusing on our relationship with God on a regular basis.
I’ve had a realization on the few days that we’ve missed going to the gym over the last month; I’ve missed it. How many of us really miss it when something comes up and keeps us from studying God’s word or when we miss gathering with fellow Christians? I know in my own life I haven’t been as committed to consciously working on my relationship with God as I have been committed to working out physically over the last month. Let’s all start taking both physical and spiritual training seriously, and if we’re going to slip on one, let it be the physical. “…train yourself to be godly. 8 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.”
Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak,
Kraig Birchfield
Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak 