Training for the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis has begun, and so as I’m trying to re-teach my body how to run 26.2 miles, I was reflecting a little bit on the spirituality of exercising the body.
If you’re anything like me, you have noticed that discipline in one area of life frequently leads to discipline in another. That is to say, when I’m watching my diet and exercising frequently, I often find that my propensity to study, read, and memorize Scripture is also bolstered. Is it just that being on top of one area leads to being on top of another, or is there something else behind it?
I think this is the way God designed us, to be holistically disciplined and self-controlled beings. Further, I don’t think it’s coincidental that Jesus urged us to love Him with all parts of our self – body, heart, and mind. Jesus did this because He, being Jewish, had a Jewish understanding of the relationship of the areas of life to one another.
The Jewish understanding of personhood is that there is no separation between body, mind, and spirit. You are one person, and that person includes your physical body as well as your heart. To take it a step further, it means that it’s very, very spiritual to literally beat your body into submission through exercise. That portion of spirituality ranks on up there with how you choose to discipline your heart and mind.
It wasn’t until Plato and the rise of the Greek way of thinking that the separation of body and heart came to prominence. The Greeks believed strongly in this separation, and we have inherited that belief.
But I wonder – is America’s growing waistline linked to its lazy spirituality? Is our “church indulgence” linked to our food indulgence? Is God just as displeased with both? Maybe we all need to go on a diet – a full person one.
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“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teaching of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thankgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 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.” – 1 Timothy 4:1-8, ESV
“What will it avail us to mortify the body if we do not mortify sin?”
– Matthew Henry
You might check John Calvin’s commentary on this passage, too.
I don’t think you have scriptural support to say “…it’s very, very spiritual to literally beat your body into submission through exercise. That portion of spirituality ranks on up there with how you choose to discipline your heart and mind.” We may wish that to be true, but is it? Can you justify your statement with God’s Word? It seems diametrically opposed to the passage above and below.
“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
– Romans 8:13, KJV
Great post. It’s hard not to become angry at the invasion of consumerism and materialism in the church. Instead of creatively and redemptively addressing it, we either shake our fists or we wave the white flag and head off to buy a Big Mac.
In all things, moderation. So true. However, rather than simply living an isolated lifestyle of moderation, I wonder like you do if we’re not supposed to exercise our faith. Planning and praying are not exclusive.
The Experiencing God mantra of looking to see where God is at work and joining Him there is great if we embrace the concept of joining God in His work. Too often, however, we remain in the “looking to see where God is at work” stage.
It would be nice if church lobbies had treadmills for working off a few excess sermons…
Marty – Thanks for your comments. Let me clarify – I wasn’t trying to imply that we should only focus on our physical bodies. I was trying to point out that I don’t believe we can separate our selves into either out “spiritual” life and our “physical” life. I think, as I said, Jesus calls us to honor God with our whole selves. I think Paul does the same thing when he includes gluttony, a “physical sin” on the same list as lying and lust, “spiritual sins.” He also makes reference that our eating or whatever we do should be done to God’s glory in 1 Cor. 15:31.
I think the passage you quoted acknowledges the same thing, that there is “some value” in these physical attributes.
It’s a shame to me that we have so segmented our lives to where we find no value in things like that, that we seek to honor God in segments of our lives but not the whole thing.
Jeff – This is a good thought, too, that sort of turns it around. I like the exercising our faith idea alot…