March 20, 2011
Background Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:6-16
Devotional Reading: Philippians 3:17-4:1

On Sunday mornings on my way to downtown Dallas and our church, about half of my route is through beautiful Turtle Creek Park, where I am always amazed to see so many joggers along the way. I’m told that 60 years ago there were few, if any, runners on that route. What has made the difference?

Answer: The physical development culture that has grown remarkably over the past 50 years. More and more Americans are taking much better care of their physical bodies – and that is a very good thing.

This morning, on my way home from church, I stopped at a store to get some light bulbs and, as I entered the store, a man exiting stopped, eyed my suit and tie and said, “I’ll bet you’ve been to church!” Decades ago, he wouldn’t have singled me out, but our society has changed radically; churchgoing is no longer the norm for large numbers of our population.

While I’m glad more people take care of the bodies God has given them, I regret that so many are missing out on taking care of their spiritual selves. 1 Timothy admonishes us to, “Train yourselves in 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”  (4:7,8).

We need the physical body for this life, but we will need our spiritual conditioning for life in both this and the other world. So, being fit physically is important, but spiritual fitness is even more so.

Godliness?

I haven’t heard the word “godliness” in or out of church for the last half-century, and I confess I have probably not used it in this column in that same period. Dwight L. Moody said that, “It is a great deal better to live a holy life than to talk about it.”

Why do we avoid that term? I think that any word with “god” in it sets a standard that we judge as too exalted for mere human beings. Or, perhaps we realize that the term also is claimed by people who fail to realize the difference between “respectability” and “godliness.” Jesus was godly, but many contemporaries did not think him” respectable.”

“Godliness,” although in disuse today, means that we are nearly – as possible – to live lives reflecting Jesus Christ. So why do we assume that “godliness” and “holiness” are beyond our reach? Is it because many of us fail in spiritual fitness? We don’t make time for spiritual growth, we think it is of low priority and we do not understand what it requires.

Dean Inge says, “It is quite natural and inevitable that if we spend 16 hours daily of our waking life in thinking about the affairs of the world, and about five minutes in thinking about God and our souls, this world will seem about two hundred times more real than God or our souls.”

Pressing on

For 40 or more years I have disciplined myself to spend one hour five days a week in physical exercise. That has brought good results.

I also spend about an hour per day in spiritual exercise: scriptures, prayers, meditations, et cetera. And, although I would not call myself “godly,” I can truthfully say that my goal is to grow spiritually. That’s the way it is with God: He requires us to always be on the upward trail toward our goal of being spiritually fit.

“Not that I have already attained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal  for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14.)
If we were as concerned with spiritual development as many are with their physical bodies, Christianity would not be on the decline in North America, Britain and Europe. Tryon Edwards says, “A holy life is not an ascetic, or gloomy or solitary life, but a life regulated by divine truth and faithful in Christian duty – It is living above the world while we are still in it.” That is spiritual fitness.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.