Spiritual Health - 3 Healthy Habits Series

“Spiritual Fitness”

Three Steps to Spiritual Fitness

7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8For 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 Tim. 4:7-8

“Take the time and the trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit.”

1 Timothy 4:7 (Phillips Translation)

To say that our nation is caught up in a fitness craze is an understatement. Physical fitness has become a billion dollar business in the United States and continues to grow. At any given time you can find the latest “infomercial” on television featuring the latest fitness product on the market. I especially like the creative names of the fitness equipment. For example:

· “The Thigh Master”

· “The Abdominizer”

· “The Gut-Be-Gone”

Most of the fitness products also come with a training video … but wait! There’s more! If you order now we’ll send you free our latest training videos on: “Abs of Steel” and “Buns of Steel”. And for our first fifty orders we’ll also include “The Elvis Presley Guide to Nutrition; the Later Years”.

Whether it’s “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” with Richard Simmons or Billy Joe Jim-Bob’s “Country Line Aerobics”, they all promise the same thing: If you’ll follow their training plan, you can be physically fit in a matter of days. And just when you think you’ve seen it all … While flying to Washington, DC last week, I was flipping through the “Sky Mall” catalogue when I noticed a picture of a man hooked up to several electrodes on various muscles on his body. The advertisement stated that gyms and fitness centers are a thing of the past. All you need to do now is to hook up to the various electrodes that would send an electric current to stimulant the muscles and work them out while you do your work.

Most who know me know that I am a big believer in being physically fit. One of the highlights of my day is to get to the gym and go through my regular workout routine. But physical fitness doesn’t happen overnight. It takes developing a personalized regular routine and staying with it. And it’s certainly not as complicated as all the “infomercials” make it out to be. In fact, I endeavor to follow a simple format for physical fitness that I learned from my seventh grade gym teach James Briton:

1. Eat a Balanced Diet to Maintain Energy.

2. Regularly Exercise to Build Muscular & Cardiovascular Systems.

3. Get Proper Rest to Recharge Yourself.

First Timothy 4:7-8 says:

7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8For 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 Tim. 4:7-8

I like how the Phillips translation states verse seven:

“Take the time and the trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit.”

1 Timothy 4:7 (Phillips Translation)

In other words, it’s good to be physically fit, and it’s even better to be spiritually fit. But just how do you get spiritually fit? Funny, but I haven’t seen too many “infomercials” on spiritual fitness. Hey, who knows? Maybe we’re on to something here! We could develop some training videos on spiritual fitness:

· “Prayers of Steel”

· “Sermons of Brimstone”

What does it mean to be “Spiritually Fit”? And how do you get there? Well, I don’t think it’s that difficult. In fact, I would like to suggest a very simple approach. And although I don’t plan on developing an “infomercial” any time soon, I think the following three steps can help you get spiritually fit.

Three Steps to Spiritual Fitness

(1) Spiritual Fitness Requires the proper Spiritual Nutrition.

Just as the body needs the proper daily nourishment of food, spiritual fitness requires the proper daily nourishment of spiritual food. In Matthew 4:4 Jesus stated:

4 "It is written: ’Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’" Matthew 4:4

In other words, man is more than just a physical being. He is a spiritual being as well as a physical being. And just as the physical side of him needs nourishment, so does the spiritual nature.

In the Old Testament there is a story about how God miraculously provided food for the Israelites during their forty year journey from their slavery in Egypt to their entering the promised land.

11The LORD said to Moses, 12"I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ’At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’ "