Spiritual Lifehacks -- Walking with Jesus
For the past few weeks I’ve shared with you various simple solutions for everyday problems, and related simple solutions to help us all get closer to God. Tonight we’re going to finish our series on Spiritual Lifehacks with a a method of exercise from our neighbor to the north.
In the late 1950s, the Royal Canadian Air Force developed the Five Basic Exercises, or 5BX, exercise program. It was designed to give pilots stationed in remote parts of Northern Canada with no access to gyms or other exercise equipment a method to reliably and habitually keep their bodies toned and physically fit enough for air combat. A little bit later, the XBX (10 Basic Exercises) program was developed for female pilots.
Here is a copy of the official RCAF 5BX and XBX training booklets. The entire program is designed to be performed in only 11 minutes, three times per week. The 5BX Plan is composed of six charts arranged in increasing order of difficulty. Each chart is composed of five exercises that are performed within 11 minutes. The first four exercises are calisthenics, and the last an aerobic exercise. As the individual progresses within the system, the number of each type of exercise that must be performed increases and the difficulty of each exercise increases.
In 1970, comedian George Burns remarked that he was a devoted user of the 5BX program. He died 26 years later, aged 100. In 2008, the RCAF changed the exercise regimen for their pilots, ending close to 50 years of 5BX and XBX use by Canadian pilots and civilians.
For men, the exercises include toe touching as a warm up for 2 minutes, partial sit-ups or crunches for 1 minute, leg lifts for 1 minute, push-ups for 1 minute, and ends in stationary running for 6 minutes.
For ladies, the exercises include toe touching as a warm-up for 30 seconds, knee raising for 30 seconds, arm circling for 30 seconds, partial sit-ups or crunches for 30 seconds, chest and leg raising for 2 minutes, side leg raising for 1 minute, push-ups for 2 minutes, leg lifting for 1 minute, and ends in a run and hop for 3 minutes.
As you can see, the 5BX and XBX programs are easy to do, and will allow you to stay fit without any need for specialized equipment. It can literally be done anywhere. For this reason it was a requirement for all RCAF pilots for close to 50 years. Just like the Royal Canadian Air Force, we have also been given a booklet of required exercises by our King -- the Bible. But the Bible contains so much, and it is so full of information, that it can be difficult to really understand what specifically our King, the Lord, requires of us! Thankfully, we are told specifically what is required! Turn with me to the book of Micah, chapter 6, verse 8.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Well, that was succinct, wasn’t it? Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. That is the very definition of God’s standard of “goodness” and what our commitment to Him involves. Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.
But what does it mean to “act justly?” Justice is defined as “behavior or treatment based on or behaving according to what is morally right and fair.” So, be fair and moral. Easy enough, right? After all, the Bible says multiple times to be fair. One verse that typically stands out is Matthew 7:12:
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
We know this passage as the “Golden Rule”, but in reality, this is Jesus reminding the people yet again that justice is important to God. It’s interesting also to see that the verse says to “act justly”. This is important because it’s really easy for us to say that we want justice, but we must be willing to take appropriate action to ensure that people are treated justly -- otherwise we’re being insincere.
Please don’t misunderstand me -- we can’t control what other people do, nor should we try to. There is a lot of injustice in the world -- that’s because the world is fallen and full of sin. We see this every time we turn on the news. Just today I saw a video where a cop shot an unarmed man in the back eight times in South Carolina. We’re not in South Carolina, we’re not close to South Carolina, and I don’t think God really expects us all to pick up and drive 6 hours to South Carolina because of this injustice. All we can really do is pray and seek God’s advice on these situations. However, we can also make sure that we treat other people around us with justice. Can you imagine how the world would change if everyone made sure they treated other people with fairness and justice in everything they did?
One cannot be just without showing mercy. We must love mercy. The Hebrew word used here, hesed, can also be translated as grace, mercy, lovingkindness, or loyalty. Lovingkindness is an old word that means tenderness and consideration for others. So God says that we must not only love mercy, but love grace, love tenderness and consideration for others, and love loyalty. That’s a tall order! It’s difficult to do this because we are by nature not a loving people. We’re not! Human beings are, by nature, selfish, mean, violent, hateful people. None of those traits exemplify love, right? We all know the Bible’s definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13: patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking, not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs.
This does not happen naturally. Thankfully, though, we are called to live in the supernatural! Naturally, we can say the right thing, and even do the right thing -- but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we are sincere about it. Actors and actresses make their living by convincing you that they believe something that isn’t true, after all -- it’s no different with anyone else. In order to sincerely love mercy, we must love people from our hearts. All people -- not just the ones easy to love! Matthew 5:44 says, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. OK, fair enough. But Leviticus 19:18 goes a bit further: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge -- both things that our flesh desperately wants us to do if we feel like we’ve been wronged.
So, since it’s not natural for us to be loving, merciful and just people, how exactly do we do this? Thankfully, God explained this through Micah as well -- walk humbly with Him. Walking humbly with God is the culmination of everything we’ve discussed in this series. If you walk humbly with God, you will have rhythm between your times alone with God and your times with other people. If you walk humbly with God you will have a healthy and active prayer life. If you walk humbly with God, you will submit to His authority and follow His guidance. Everything about our lives as Christians hinges on us walking humbly with God.
But what does that look like? After all, we’re not Adam and Eve, who were able to literally walk with the Lord in the Garden of Eden. It’s not that easy to walk with God, is it?
Well, it can be. Walking humbly with God requires constant gratitude toward God, total reliance on him and an undying respect for His commands -- following them every day. If we are totally reliant on God and are constantly thankful for what He does in our lives and in the lives of people we love (remember, that’s everybody!), then we must be humble. The Bible even mentions how God loves the humble several times. James 4:6 says, “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’” I Peter 5:5-6 says something similar: “In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’ 6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
I noticed something familiar about both of those verses -- they both said the exact same thing, didn’t they? I mean, word for word! “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Both James and Peter are quoting from the Old Testament here -- Proverbs 3:34 says, “He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.”.
OK, OK, we get it. God says to be humble -- but I am humble! I don’t brag about things I have, I don’t tell people how smart I am or how much money I have -- that’s being humble, right?
Yes, it is. But true humility is much more than that. Let’s read Matthew 6:5.
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”
Now tell me, do you think that the people Jesus is talking about here -- the hypocrites who prayed loudly in public so people could see how holy they were -- do you think they were humble? Of course not! The same could be said with worship, as well. Those of you who went to camp last year, what was one thing Pastor John said about watching other people? He said you’re not supposed to look at little Johnny and say, “Oh, my, he’s a good worshipper!” Or glance over at little Susie and see her worshipping, and say to yourself, “Aww, look at that -- she’s so fixated on God! That’s so sweet!”
No! Public worship is important, yes; but it’s only a small part of our total commitment to Christ! One of the notes in my Bible says, “A genuine love for the lord must be demonstrated by gracious action toward others -- particularly those in need.”
Hmm. Now that’s interesting, isn’t it? “Gracious action toward others -- particularly those in need.” That sounds like showing others justice and mercy, doesn’t it? If you’re not gracious, you’re certainly not being merciful, or tender, or compassionate, right? If they’re in need, then you’re not really being just either -- “fair and moral”. If you have something that someone else needs, and you don’t give it to them, is that fair? Don’t misunderstand me -- I’m not talking about wants, but needs. Food, shelter, clothing. Would it be considered gracious, merciful, tender, or compassionate to give something to someone else because they needed it, with no expectation of return?
Just like Christ gave His life for us because we needed it -- we were doomed to death, and only the life of Christ Himself would save us. He gave it to us with no expectation of a return because He loved us that much. That is what walking with God can look like.
Walking with God doesn’t need any special rooms, or equipment. You can -- and should -- do it anywhere and everywhere! Just like the 5BX and XBX programs, walking with God on a regular basis can help you live a long life -- but I’m talking much longer than George Burns’ 100 years. That’s pocket change compared to life for eternity waiting in heaven for those who follow God!
Over the past few weeks we’ve discussed several lifehacks -- how to establish a rhythm, how to pray continuously, and how to submit. But none of these things are really possible without this fourth, most important lifehack -- walking with God. I’ve said it several times before -- God is more than just our creator, He’s also our father and our friend. If we walk with Him, the other lifehacks will fall into place.
