Exercise or Godliness?
I am a person who believes in exercise and eating right for my physical health. There is no doubt that my life is better because I run 3 miles 3 times a week, and I eat things that help me feel better and keep my weight down. However, I realize that all of this takes a back seat to being a godly person, because godliness profits me much more than physical exercise.(I Timothy 4:8) We all need to learn this lesson once and for all.
You can do everything in your power and still not be physically healthy if your genetic makeup brings about problems. Also, God may not want you to be perfectly healthy. Yes, that is right. Please, remember Paul's thorn in the flesh and Jacob's limp. Those are just two examples of times when God allowed godly people to have physical problem for their own good. All of this is because our physical bodies are wearing out no matter what we do, and they can only do so much to improve our lives. We must not put all of our time and effort into being physically healthy. Our main focus must be on godliness.
Godliness profits us in every area of this life and in the life to come in heaven. There is no comparison between what being healthy does for us and what being godly does for us. By being godly we know the Lord which bring peace and contentment. We grow in the Lord which brings patience and perseverance. We have His love, joy, and self-control, which helps us in all of our relationships. Then, based on how godly we are here, God will even bless us more in heaven with our eternal responsibilities. Yes, we will have things to do for the Lord in heaven.
I spend several hours a week running and making sure I eat right. I spend several hours a day pursuing godliness. I would encourage you to do the same thing. It is a great blessing to find the right balance between the two, and to enjoy all God has for us. II Peter 1:3,4 tells us that we have been given all we need for life and godliness by God's power and promises. However, in the same way we have to exercise and eat right to have good physical health, we have to put forth the effort to let the Holy Spirit guide us and make us like Jesus one step at a time. It will not happen automatically. If we pursue godliness, it will happen, and we will see life as God's designed, not like the world tells us.
You can be beautiful or handsome, trim and fit, able to run a marathon, with all kinds of muscles, but you can be miserable in your life because you are pursuing things that don't last and only help you a little. When you are a godly person it helps in every decision, every relationship, every problem you have every day. Please, pursue godliness. You will not be sorry you did.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Timothy 5-6 and II Timothy 1.
You can do everything in your power and still not be physically healthy if your genetic makeup brings about problems. Also, God may not want you to be perfectly healthy. Yes, that is right. Please, remember Paul's thorn in the flesh and Jacob's limp. Those are just two examples of times when God allowed godly people to have physical problem for their own good. All of this is because our physical bodies are wearing out no matter what we do, and they can only do so much to improve our lives. We must not put all of our time and effort into being physically healthy. Our main focus must be on godliness.
Godliness profits us in every area of this life and in the life to come in heaven. There is no comparison between what being healthy does for us and what being godly does for us. By being godly we know the Lord which bring peace and contentment. We grow in the Lord which brings patience and perseverance. We have His love, joy, and self-control, which helps us in all of our relationships. Then, based on how godly we are here, God will even bless us more in heaven with our eternal responsibilities. Yes, we will have things to do for the Lord in heaven.
I spend several hours a week running and making sure I eat right. I spend several hours a day pursuing godliness. I would encourage you to do the same thing. It is a great blessing to find the right balance between the two, and to enjoy all God has for us. II Peter 1:3,4 tells us that we have been given all we need for life and godliness by God's power and promises. However, in the same way we have to exercise and eat right to have good physical health, we have to put forth the effort to let the Holy Spirit guide us and make us like Jesus one step at a time. It will not happen automatically. If we pursue godliness, it will happen, and we will see life as God's designed, not like the world tells us.
You can be beautiful or handsome, trim and fit, able to run a marathon, with all kinds of muscles, but you can be miserable in your life because you are pursuing things that don't last and only help you a little. When you are a godly person it helps in every decision, every relationship, every problem you have every day. Please, pursue godliness. You will not be sorry you did.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Timothy 5-6 and II Timothy 1.