Monday, July 23, 2012

Good Exercise


There was a time in my life when I was disciplined to run and stay in shape, although it was mostly so I could play sports. Now that I am older I have found it harder and harder to make myself exercise. I’m glad that Paul didn’t put a premium on bodily exercise. In I Timothy 4:7-8 Paul says to “exercise thyself unto godliness. For bodily exercise profits little, but godliness is profitable for all things.” 

Like the runner who has to work at conditioning his body, so the child of God has to work at godliness because it is unnatural to our flesh. We have to condition ourselves to read God’s Word, spend time with Him, and obey Him. 

I once had a basketball coach who wanted us to be the best conditioned team in the league, and in my opinion, we were. In one contest the game was on the line, and in the final minutes the player guarding me was tired and gasping for air when I still had energy. That conditioning was paying off when I needed it to. There will come a time in your spiritual walk when your conditioning will pay off—in temptation, in witnessing, etc—but only if you are in shape.

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