Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Romans 12:1

LEARN

As Romans 12:1 states, we are called to offer our bodies as a sacrifice to the Lord. I find this verse to be particularly helpful when it comes to the topic of exercise. This takes the pressure off of whether working out is good or bad and brings the focus back to where it needs to be. Are you working out as a sacrifice to God?

Because we are sinful, we are really good at twisting something good and God given into an idol. Fitness is one of those areas that can turn into an idol if we are not careful and honest about why we do it. For a long time I worked out purely because of how it would make me look. The only motivation I had was the prospect of changing my reflection and attaining the body that would finally make me desired and worthy. I would work extremely hard only to be disappointed at the end of the day when I still did not look like a Victoria Secret model and the same body that I loathed was staring back at me in the mirror.

I started CrossFit about two years ago and it was such an eye opening experience. There were no mirrors anywhere and all the girls were all different shapes and sizes. It is a completely performance based sport and it was so refreshing. The lack of mirrors made me realize how much time I was wasting picking apart my body instead of thanking God for giving me a strong, capable body that works and moves! I began taking my focus off myself and placing my focus on Christ for the first time in my fitness journey. As cheesy as it sounds, the trials of the extremely difficult workouts I was enduring were translating into my perseverance as a Christian outside of the gym.

As long as you are working out to glorify God, I strongly believe that engaging in physical fitness is wonderful for both your body and mind. We are called to be good stewards of our bodies and exercising regularly is one way that we can strive to be obedient in that area.

Just like there are bad reasons to work out, there are also bad reasons to forgo working out. Laziness or poor time management are often two reasons for people skipping the gym. There are, of course, seasons when we will not be able to work out as much as we would like to and that is okay. It is important to be honest with yourself about why you don’t work out and discern if that is a God glorifying decision or if it is a lack of self-discipline.

We are all in different places when it comes to our physical abilities. You don’t have to run a marathon tomorrow, but you can start taking care of your body today. Stay grounded in God’s word and honest with yourself about why you show up to the gym. If your motives are not pure, ask God to change your heart. He is so faithful.

KNOW

If you could work out but your body would never change, would you still do it?
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about what motivates you to go to the gym?
When you opt out of the gym, what is the main reason?

DO

This week, journal about your exercise experiences. How did you feel while you were at the gym? Did you find yourself fixating on your own reflection? If you couldn’t make it to the gym, did you feel a sense of anxiety? Reflect on all of your emotions that come up surrounding your workouts or lack there of this week.