In my first semester of seminary in the fall of 2021, I took a class called Personal Spiritual Disciplines by Dr. Donald Whitney. This has been one of the most impactful classes I have taken, and it centered around 1 Timothy 4:7, which the last part of says, “Train yourself for godliness.” We discussed and learned about Scripture reading and memory, prayer, meditation, silence, service, and more, and how, through the regular practice of them, we can deepen our relationship with God. You can find the book and find most of the same things I learned here.
I learned a great many things in this class, and saw great value in training, discipline, and setting habits as they related to the Christian life. I implemented many of the practices I learned into my daily and weekly routine. I began to get a better sense that godliness and personal holiness do not happen by accident. They take focused, intentional effort, much like physical fitness will never happen by accident without long-term, concentrated, and focused exercise. But some things are simply better learned and grasped through real-life experience rather than in the classroom, as valuable as those lessons can be.
A Personal Anecdote
Going back a few years before I took this class to my time in college, I thought that running, lifting weights, and going to the gym were ridiculous and generally a waste of time. Sure, I would happily run all day long if it involved playing an actual sport. I played countless hours of basketball, ultimate frisbee, and beach volleyball during my four years of undergraduate study. But running just to run? Come on, now. Who could possibly enjoy doing that? And why would I want to exercise? I had a very high metabolism and could essentially eat whatever I wanted and however much of it I wanted without it having any real effect on my health.
Suffice it to say that in the past three years, my mindset, along with my body, has changed. Upon getting married almost three years ago now, I began eating a much healthier diet with the help of my wife, who is a chef extraordinaire. Still, though, I rarely, if ever, exercised. My wife and I have always enjoyed going on walks together, but as far as regular exercise was concerned, I was still not sold.
That is, until I became a father a little over a year and a half ago. I realized how out of shape I was getting. Not because I was eating unhealthily, but because that high metabolism I had during my college years was starting to wear off. It didn’t matter if my eating habits were healthy or not; I could no longer eat however much I wanted, whenever I wanted, without any consequences. It would have been easy for me to shrug this off and continue on doing what I was doing (or not doing), and some do. But when Seoirse was born and as she began to grow up, I knew that I wanted to be the best father that I could be to her, and among many other things, I wanted to be able to play with her. Not just watch from a distance because I’m out of breath from chasing her, or afraid that I will pull or break something while playing a game, but to be truly as physically present with her as I can possibly be.
So slowly but surely, I have gotten into running. Our apartment is right next to a beautiful paved trail that goes for miles, and there is also an indoor gym with treadmills and other equipment when it is too cold outside. And starting at the beginning of this year, I began a weight-lifting program that works muscles all over the body, as I am aiming for better overall health and fitness, not just in one area.
Focusing on What Matters for Eternity
College-me would look at present-me in disbelief. But I have begun to truly understand what I only intellectually understood a few years ago. If you want to be healthy, whether physically, spiritually, or in any other area of life, it does not come without work, commitment, and yes, rigor. Running is hard. And it is even harder when I am trying to push my year-and-a-half-old in her stroller at the same time. So is lifting weights. But I do these things not only because they are good for my health and so I can be present for my daughter, but I do them ultimately because the Bible tells us that we ought to glorify God in our bodies because they are a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
But at the same time, it also says that “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” (1 Timothy 4:8). Exercise and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are incredibly important, yes. They are good things to work for. But these are not the end goals. As I grow older and older, no matter how hard I may try to resist it and stay in shape, I will grow weaker, more frail, and my body will die. There is nothing anyone can do to prevent this from happening, so it would be in vain for me to put all my effort and spend all my time trying to be the fittest person I can possibly be at the expense of my own soul, which will go on into eternity. Exercise of the body is good, but it should never take away from the exercise of the soul.
Hebrews 12:14 says, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” The effort that we put into striving to keep our bodies in good health should be matched and then raised in our efforts for holiness. Physical fitness is a good goal to have, but how much more important is it to see the Lord? I have found that striving for physical fitness is often a great aid in striving for holiness.
- For one, it provides me with an opportunity to pop an earbud in and listen to an uplifting sermon, podcast, or music.
- Second, as already discussed, the soul is of much more importance than the body, so whatever effort I put forward in running that next mile or lifting that next weight, I spur myself on to put even more effort in waging war against the sin that is still in me.
- Third, it should go without saying that when you strive for physical fitness, you feel good. It feels good to be healthy; it improves your overall attitude and mood, and you are in a better place overall. If this is true of bodily exercise, how much more joy and fulfillment should the spiritual exercises of Bible intake and study, prayer, meditation, and more bring?
A Strong God
Of course, none of this is done in our own strength or power, but it is through the sustaining grace of God that we lift weights and study our Bibles for his glory. Paul spoke of how he endured all the hardships of his ministry while still continuing to faithfully proclaim Christ like this, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Colossians 1:29). Was it a great toil and struggle and effort on the part of Paul to continue on? Yes. Was it ultimately through his own efforts that this was done? No. Underneath every bit of blood, sweat, and tears was the powerful hand of God holding him up and providing energy, because left to his own, Paul would have collapsed under the weight of everything that opposed him. But, as Paul says in another place, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).
Perhaps the biggest thing I have learned since beginning this journey of exercising more consistently is this: I will not get in better shape by doing nothing, and I will certainly not see the Lord if I do not strive after him. But even in my striving, I have learned to lean on the grace of God and the energy he supplies more and more every day.
Above All Things 