YMCA

Be Trendy and Live Trimly

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87273_genesis_fitness_clubI didn’t realize it at the time, but I was a trend setter in late 1971.  I joined an elite group of men in an exercise club.

Health and fitness clubs can be found in any town of any size today.  They’re easy to see with their bright signage that lures you in and smiling attendants who entice you with their catchy mottos: “Expanding wellness and extending lives through health.”

When I joined my club in 1971, it wasn’t Genesis or the YMCA, it was called boot camp.  There were no smiling faces, just sneers.  Words of welcome were usually limited to 4 colorful letters that would have made grandmother blush; and, the mottos were tirades about the history of my family that I’d never heard before.

You may be using some of the latest technological gadgets to enhance your time in the gym. So many people are purchasing devices to monitor their activity that PC Magazine ran an article that compares the different features of Fitbit, Mio Fuse, Vivosmart, Jawbone, and others.

The Be Trendy-Live Trimly Fitness Craze has found its way through the doors of Oral Roberts University.  Freshmen students at ORU must wear a Fitbit, and they’re required to average 10,000 steps a day and 150 minutes of intense activity each week.

Exercise and sports are common analogies found in the bible, and Paul used them, in I Corinthians 9: “So I run—but not without a clear goal ahead of me. So I box—but not as if I were just shadow boxing.  Rather, I toughen my body with punches and make it my slave so that I will not be disqualified after I have spread the Good News to others.”

Paul was more concerned with a person’s spiritual health than he was their physical health.  Which one of the two is your greater focus? More importantly, how are you monitoring your spiritual activity?

What would a spiritual Fitbit say about you? Be Trendy, Live Trimly, and Think Theologically.

Get Buff and Boogie

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SONY DSC

SONY DSC

Tom Tom has started selling a fitness watch, so you can get buff and boogie at the same time.  When I read the article describing this newer addition to the fitness craze, I wondered if the Apostle Paul would have worn one.

Which one of the following songs do you think Paul would have had on his playlist?

  • Onward Christian Soldiers
  • Victory in Jesus
  • On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand
  • I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

Paul didn’t have all the gadgets that are available today, but he did know the importance of training and being fit:

“We all know that when there’s a race, all the runners bolt for the finish line, but only one will take the prize. When you run, run for the prize!  Athletes in training are very strict with themselves, exercising self-control over desires, and for what? For a wreath that soon withers or is crushed or simply forgotten. That is not our race. We run for the crown that we will wear for eternity. So I don’t run aimlessly. I don’t let my eyes drift off the finish line.When I box, I don’t throw punches in the air. I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after all this, after I have brought the gospel to others, I will still be qualified to win the prize.”  ~I Cor.9:24-27

Like Paul, we need to live a disciplined life and “strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).”

Paying and Staying Fit

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Horizon_Fitness_T101-3_TreadmillAny town of any size in the USA has some type of a gym or health club for the benefit of its citizens.  Many Americans strive to develop or maintain a regimen that leads to and promotes good health.

According to information from Yahoo:

  • 58 million Americans have a gym membership, but 67% of them never use their memberships.
  • Health clubs have annual revenues of about $21.8 billion.
  • The average cost per person for a membership is $58.
  • 5% of gym-goers use a personal trainers at an average price per session of $65.
  • Americans spend around $30 billion a year on athletic apparel.

While we should try to stay reasonably fit, we should place at least equal or more emphasis on praying to stay fit.  How would your life be different if you started a match program?

  • For every minute you spend trying to stay physically fit, you will match it with a minute of spiritual exercise (praying, reading your Bible, or speaking to someone about Jesus).
  • For every penny you spend paying to stay physically fit, you will give an equal amount to the Lord.

When you consider eternity, which one is of the greater benefit to you?  Is it paying to stay fit or praying to stay fit?