God Thoughts January 17th

God Thoughts January 17th

My Christian friends often say that the Bible says nothing 

about exercise. So why waste the energy? This attitude is 

evidenced by the number of obese people sitting in the pews and 

even standing in this pulpit. Church membership is down 

because we can’t fit all of them in the building. I have a friend 

who knows he is overweight and unhealthy. He quotes the 

scripture about our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit (1 

Cor. 6:19). Then he turns in a circle, displaying his opulent body, 

and says, “I’m building a mega-church.”

But all of us know that the poor health that comes with the 

“megachurch” and falls short of what honors God.   That poor 

health eats up our resources and zaps our purpose. Often people  

point out that the Bible says nothing about exercise, I respond, 

“Life in Bible times was exercise. If anything, the people in those 

days needed to set aside time to be sedentary, time to rest.”

I would like to point to For physical training is of some value, 

but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for 

both the present life and the life to come. 1 Timothy 4:8

“Most of us set goals that are too small. Wearing a certain dress 

size, reaching a target weight, or looking buff isn’t a goal big 

enough to sustain you for the rest of your life. If your “goal is too 

small, then once you reach it, your commitment fades. As soon as 

the zipper zips, out come the potato chips!

Without a bigger goal, you will never maintain that weight or 

continue to fit into the dress. Before you know it, you’re sliding 

downhill, struggling to recapture the same hard-won ground 

again. Over time your weight will yo-yo up and down, resulting in 

even poorer health, greater lack of confidence, and deeper 

discouragement. Been there, done that.

But notice what 1 Timothy 4:8 states what our ultimate goal 

must be godliness for this life and the life to come!  Or as we have 

said; glorify God!  Telling the next generation about God's glory 

becomes a challenge with poor health.  Spending time loving our 

nephews and nieces become a challenge as we lose resources, our purpose 

and our health.