A Gym Rat no more

Was The Apostle Paul, more like Joseph Pilates than we realized?

I’ve been doing some research on the exercise guru of another generation, one Joseph Pilates. It was in fact, this German born one time prisoner of war, who is reported to have utilized his new ideas about the body and exercise while held in a prison camp during WWI. Following the war he brought his techniques to the marketplace and in so doing created a movement that still thrives in our modern era of exercise. His exercises attempt to engage the whole body and bring together breathing, strength training, and core conditioning. For many this holistic approach speaks loudly to need for a balanced approach to the goal of healthier living, greater flexibility, and freedom from the pains that are commonly associated with aging.

And yet, not to be outdone, The Apostle Paul was working through much of the same rationale with his young servant Timothy, who as the leader of the church at Ephesus was faced with challenges consistent with our own exercise crazed culture.

Now, what is fitness anyway? The condition of being physically fit and healthy. The quality of being suitable to fulfill a particular role or task.

So the question comes as a result of reading I Timothy 4:6-10, what do fit servants do? Put another way, those who desire to lead productive lives, and impact those around them. Put another way, what fit servants do– does us good. So, if we examine what amounts to a fitness plan from the training table of Paul, what might it look like?

So, given Timothy’s role as the leader of this church, what might his plan of attack look like?

FIT SERVANTS POINT OUT THE ERRORS OF DOCTRINE THAT RISE UP AROUND THEM.

In this case Timothy sets himself against the errors of the heretics that Paul has noted in verses 1-5. It’s standing up against the message of a prosperity gospel or personal achievement cult, where God guarantees you the blessings of money and fame. Or it might be the message increasingly popular that there is no heaven and no hell– they are merely illusions meant to dull the senses and inhibit our freedom to really live. It is to stand for something, to escape the pitfall of falling for anything.

FIT SERVANTS NOURISH THE SOUL WITH GOOD DOCTRINE

The nourishment is the means by which Timothy has become a good servant. He has been doing this in the words of “the”faith and good doctrine.” He has attained; it means to follow beside. Timothy has done the finished piece of work that is his course in Christian instruction. He has to know what to embrace and what to shun

THEY EXERCISE THEIR SPIRITUAL MUSCLE

It’s the word gumnazo, (gym); here the exercise is not of the physical body– but one of the mind, emotions, and the will– the spiritual part of believers– all with a mind toward excellence in godliness. The word is Eusebia: a reverence, piety toward God.

It’s amazing to step back from the culture and just listen to its talk about excellence. I hear it over and over again… the team should pursue excellence, the athlete should pursue excellence… the best we can be, again and again I hear it ad nauseam, etc. But I seldom hear anyone in or out of Christian service advocate for a pursuit of excellence in the Christian life, much less in their level of piety before God. That strikes me as odd, given this passage and others ( II Peter 1), for example.

And then bodily exercise appears to have an interesting origin. It had become fashionable in the 1st century to stress bodily exercise to the level of a theological passion– a life given over to the priority of physical perfection as a chief priority of life. So the contrast here is not between exercise or piety, but piety (which included a discipline of the body) and the extreme obsession where the development of the physical body is everything.

And one more, FIT SERVANTS WORK HARD.

I Notice in the text that Paul is adamant about the level of energy he gives this process. He says, to this end we labor– that means to the point of exhaustion, and strive– that appears to have a close connection to the work we all recognize, to agonize. So given these two words, we learn that those most “fit” servants are the ones who recognize that the Spiritual work designed by God to be most beneficial to us, requires good nourishment, good thinking, plenty of muscle stretching, and lots of hard work But oh, the possibilities:

• What if by studying more, we might actually steer someone away from a dangerous cliff of unbelief or just as bad– misbelief?

• What if by caring more for our bodies we increase the likelihood that we can minister longer lean wider into someone’s life/

• What if by stretching for the finish line, we open the doors of faith to someone who just needed that encouragement from us?

Then Press on