“If you have a body, you’re an athlete. – Bill Bowerman
One thing most people take for granted is their physical well being. No, nobody wants to get sick and takes the necessary precautions to avoid that. But is that what taking care of yourself is all about? Is it just about preventing something, or should there be more to it? Let’s put it this way. In a sports tournament, the goal is to win. Yet, we see at least two kinds of mentalities amongst the competitors. There are some who are there to win it all, as everyone should be, while a few joining just want to put up a decent performance or not end up last. Those who just don’t want to get sick are the ones who are just trying to avoid last place. They put in a little work, but not to the extent that they maximize their potential – because yes, each of our bodies are full of potential.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
We are full of potential regardless of what shape or form we take. We may not all look like we were built to run a marathon under two hours (which has been done by the way!), but we are built for something. Some of us may have even been born of some physical handicap or had an accident that altered our physicality along the way, but still we were all built for something special. And even if we are in a stage in our life where we still don’t know what that is, we have no excuse to prepare for it. Preparations for such should always include physical training. We simply have to take care of the bodies that are given us to the best of our ability. Several verses in the bible teach us this. In the book of Romans we are asked to offer our bodies as a holy and living sacrifice to please God – and calls this the true form of worship. In Corinthians, our bodies are called the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Such verses, and yes there are plenty more, suggest to us that developing the full potential of our bodies is actually a spiritual discipline. Spiritual disciplines are methods we go about to reach our perfected selves as children of God. Things we do or practice, to grow closer and more alike Christ. Worship, prayer, reading your bible, and fasting are other spiritual disciplines Christians practice throughout their walk with Christ on earth. These are the most common ones at least, while developing yourself physically is usually left out. But the truth is, those who hone their bodies are the ones who are able to reach the furthest ends of the earth to preach the word of God. They are also the ones that live longer and therefore have the most wisdom to share. They are also usually the ones capable to do good works within a community – like distributing goods to those in need during a pandemic. And of course, they are the ones always full of energy, a trait that every Christian should posses, since we are commanded to be joyful during our lifetime.
A lot of people, even non-Christians, do practice physical fitness but for the wrong intentions. Physical fitness by the way is composed of two things, exercise and proper diet. More often than not, people invest in this industry to look better, lose weight, become sexier and the like. It’s all about vanity. There may be nothing wrong in wanting all those but if you want to use your bodies to glorify God as you should, then you must practice the discipline with such intentions. Everything else could be a bi-product of such, or a bonus of sort. It’s important to do this, because we we know, God looks at the heart – He knows what our intentions are and we will be held accountable for them. If you’re an athlete, you want to be putting in the work for the prize you’re after. Not for the potential endorsements or the fame. It’s the same thing here.
So put on those sneakers and start moving. You’ll never know what God is going to call you for and you don’t want to be out of shape when your number is up. There is a lot of work to be done for His kingdom, and there is no excuse for us to slack off and become the best versions of ourselves because He deserves no less. Make keeping yourself physically fit for the Lord part of the spiritual discipline you practice. Especially these days where we are all stuck at home, we just have absolutely no excuse to get our hearts pumping for the Lord. Have fun!
Competitive in Christ 