Get stronger. Shed pounds. Look higher.
The mantras of train tradition are plastered in all places— in ads, motion pictures, TV, and social media. American tradition prizes bodily health and well being at idolatrous ranges. Our social media feeds are inundated with fast fixes, whether or not it’s a brand new exercise routine or weight reduction drug like Ozempic.
Based on a recent Gallup poll, 43% of American adults assume they’re chubby, and 55% say they wish to drop some pounds. Solely 27% of these surveyed are actively working towards shedding weight. Weight reduction is listed because the #4 pattern within the American College of Sports Medicine report for health traits of 2025.
Pastors and ministry leaders additionally see train as essential, even when they don’t give it the time they really feel it deserves. The Lifeway Research 2022 Greatest Needs of Pastors research discovered that 59% of pastors say constantly exercising is a facet of self-care that they discover difficult.
Rising up, I used to be immersed in numerous sports activities and actions. I performed tennis and danced throughout my school years. As an grownup, I prioritized staying lively by discovering a fitness center and persevering with to play tennis and dance. I considered train as one thing I should do.
After chasing bodily health in my twenties, the Lord has remodeled my perspective on my train habits, which had been rooted in sustaining my match exterior look as an alternative of caring for my physique. With the Lord’s assist, my motivation shifted inward, and I see that caring for my physique is one thing I get to do for my well being and for God.
Practising Gratitude for Our Our bodies
Our bodily well being issues to God, and shifting our our bodies honors him. After we play sports activities, exercise on the fitness center, or take part in any type of train, we’re honoring him via caring for our our bodies. Though our our bodies are tainted by the results of sin, we are able to be pleased about the grace to pursue bodily train. He made our our bodies to maneuver.
Train is significant for our psychological, emotional, and bodily well being. As Christians, our perspective of train is grounded in ideas of stewardship and worship. We provide our our bodies to God as an act of worship (Romans 12:1), and bodily train is a method we look after our our bodies. We should bear in mind the reality that no matter we do, we’re doing it for his glory (1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians 3:17). This consists of train.
Gratitude for our bodily our bodies compels us to look after them via train and clever meals selections, to not beat them into submission or discover metabolic hacks. Some health applications lure us with the promise of dropping 20 kilos in 4 weeks via high-intensity interval coaching exercises and energy coaching. Different applications typically promote widespread fad diets like Keto, Whole30, low carb, or intermittent fasting. Many individuals additionally contemplate weight reduction medicine like Ozempic and even weight reduction surgical procedure to drop some pounds.
These might be fast fixes that tempt us with empty guarantees of success. After we fail to drop some pounds or we lose motivation to complete this system, we attribute our failure to ourselves and never this system’s flawed system. We should resist the temptation of fast fixes and set up common train habits that honor God. These habits will look completely different for each women and men in several seasons of life.
Train Habits that Honor God
Establishing God-honoring train habits takes effort and self-discipline. Completely different seasons of our lives require us to search out methods to maneuver our our bodies that match into our schedule, align with our hobbies, or are tailor-made to our skills, particularly as our our bodies age. This may occasionally appear like prioritizing exercises within the morning or after work on the fitness center or taking group health lessons a couple of occasions per week. For households with young children, this may appear like attending a fitness center with childcare or taking part in actions with the children (strolling or operating within the neighborhood as they experience their bikes). We will additionally transfer our our bodies by having fun with outside actions and hobbies like strolling, mountaineering, kayaking, or enjoying sports activities.
The Idol of Health
The world prizes train, however that perspective is usually rooted in egocentric motives and bodily look. Our flesh urges us to hunt our personal glory, and the outward look of being match can gas this egocentric motive inside our hearts. The pursuit of health can typically morph into an unattainable obsession and result in idolatry.
Jesus reminds us that “the place your treasure is, there your coronary heart will probably be additionally” (Matthew 6:21). We will struggle in opposition to idolatry by rooting ourselves within the Lord with a humble posture earlier than him. He frees us from the unrealistic pursuit of bodily perfection that the world guarantees us. He transforms our motives by revealing our hearts and reorienting them with the truths of Scripture.
The Lord modified my perspective by displaying me that pursuing health for the needs of stewardship honors him. I now view my physique as a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19) and wish to honor him in all I do. We should try to look after our our bodies and pursue health out of our love for God by stewarding all the things for his glory.
Kathryn Eckhardt is a contract author and works in communications at Wildwood Church (PCA) in Tallahassee, FL, the place she serves in youth, ladies’s, and worship ministries. She’s at the moment pursuing a level in theological research at Reformed Theological Seminary.
