Get fit, Get Strong.
I finished on Sunday night by saying that, as men, we should be making an effort to get fit and strong. It may have left you wondering…has Jez just got a bit carried away? Is he doing that thing that weird pastors do when they get into a hobby and then just work it into every sermon? Or is he about to start a gym side-hustle to help the budget? Rest assured, the answer is no…but I do think that this is an oft neglected area for Christian men and one that’s worth addressing and I’ll give you 4 reasons why:
#1 The Bible does talk about training
Maybe the reason it gets neglected is because it’s clear the spiritual fitness is of first importance. Paul writes:
1 TIM 4:7-8
…Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for 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.
This is right and good. Godliness is upstream and of more value than physical training. But notice two things:
1) Paul does not say that bodily training is of no value, but just some value. It’s not that physical training worthless just that it’s worth less than godliness. There’s no point being an elite athlete who’s running headlong into Hell. But it is valuable. And…
2) Paul wrote this at a time when people did not need to count calories or steps.The baseline physicality of the average first century ancient near eastern man would probably have put him in the athlete category in modern times.
Physical training is a modern solution to a very modern problem. It is still worth less than godliness but it is also more important now than it was in Paul’s day. Physical training in many ways is just an effort to return us to the base level strength and fitness of the average man Paul was writing to in the first century.
#2 Self-control is a biblical virtue…it’s also of particular importance to men.
Godliness and physical training are not disconnected. As a human you are body and spirit in one being. The body affects the spirit and the spirit affects the body. Self control is a virtue that is commanded in Scripture, it is also a fruit of the Spirit and self control involves handling both our internal desires and our bodies. This is why Paul says:
1 Cor 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control,2 lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
It’s not clear how Paul disciplines his body here but the principle is clear. Self-control in one area leads to self-control in another. Spiritual self-control helps with physical self-control and then the other way round. Physical training is a way of training ourselves in self-control…around what we eat and what we do. Doing things that are difficult or unpleasant in the short-term but beneficial long term.
This is also particularly important for men. Men are strong and with that strength come strong desires. This is why men are generally prone to more self-destructive vices liking hard drinking, drug use, pornography and other risk taking behaviours. This is why Paul instructs all men but especially young men (who have lots of strength) to be self-controlled (Titus 2:6). Getting fit and strong requires self-control and discipline. In puts us in a good place to also fight sin and temptation.
#3 Inviting hardship is practice for seeing trials as joy
James 1:1-2 says
‘Count it all joy, my brothers,2 when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.’
As Christians we are to see trials as a blessing and as the normal and natural path to maturity. Trials are not an intrusion into our lives…they are the norm and God instructs to expect them and embrace them. Physical training is a kind of voluntary hardship that helps prepare us for the involuntary hardships that will inevitably come.
More than that, training is one of the best ways that God uses hardship to bring about strength. To see that we actually need difficulty and resistance in order to grow and mature and that hardships are not in the way of happiness but, in God’s design, are the way to happiness. This is why trials are to be met with joy. Physical training prepares us well for spiritual trials.
#4 Health
The first thing a doctor will ask you if you are asking for a mental health plan will be “what is your diet and exercise like?”. Getting fit and strong will not mean that you never have any mental or physical struggles but it will put you in the best possible state to handle them. As men, we will face many trials and we are called to lead our churches, communities and families through them. This is much easier to do when we aren’t also weighed down with all the unnecessary mental and physical problems that come with being out of shape. Hebrews 12 says
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us
Being out of shape weighs us down mentally and physically and makes it harder to run the race of the Christian life. It makes it harder to get motivated easier to become discouraged and bitter and more passive about our circumstances.
These are just four reasons why it’s good and wise to get fit and strong…but you might be thinking “Great. I want to do this. I already feel bad about not doing it. Now I feel worse. What do I do?”. Great question. I’ll jump into this in the next article. But for now hold on to this encouragement from Hebrews 12:2-3
…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
