By Peter Jones
This is the final post in a series. Part I is here. Part II is here.
Eleventh, it is easy in our culture to see exercise as a means of holiness. Men and women who exercise should remember I Timothy 4:7-8, which follows closely on the heels of the I Timothy 4:1-5. Paul says that physical exercise is of little value or it could be translated is only valuable for a short time. Paul is not saying exercise is wicked or unprofitable. But he is saying that we should keep it in perspective. Exercise is of limited value in this life and of no value for the next life. In our sports and super model saturated world it is difficult to keep our exercise in perspective. Go without exercise for a week or a month and see what that does for you spiritually. Did you feel guilty? If so, your perspective is off. Women, do you feel ashamed if you put on a few pounds? Then you need to adjust your thinking. Do you feel as ashamed about your gossip as you do about missing a workout? Men do you feel as guilty about your flirting with women as you do about forgetting to run? Do you put as more thought into godliness than you do into exercise? (I Timothy 4:7) I am not saying stop exercising. Exercise is good. But keep it in perspective. Make sure you are known for your pursuit of holiness more than your pursuit of the perfect body.
Twelfth, our culture is obsessed with physical appearances. We spend billions each year on beauty and health, promoting items such as tanning, implants, hair dyes, gym memberships, organic food, etc. The newspapers, magazines, billboards, commercials, and movies all have an agenda. They are not neutral observers, but preachers for a materialistic, Godless world, where what matters is being beautiful. Remember this any time you are tempted to belly up to the bar and drink what the world is pouring. We breath in this idea from birth, so it is easy for us to miss it in our thinking. How often do we judge those around based on whether or not they are lean and attractive? How do we feel if an overweight woman walks into church as opposed to a trim man? Your mind has been affected by the constant focus on the physical in our culture. Be aware of the temptation to judge all things by physical appearance and fight against it.
Thirteenth, remember for us pouring out our lives, including our bodies, is what we are here to do. (See Romans 12:1-2 and Matthew 10:38) How many Christians try to save their bodies instead of pour them out? This point is not so much what you are doing, but why. Why do you eat healthy and exercise? Why do you want to be thin and attractive? Is it so you can pour yourself out for others? Are you spending your life, even when you are trying to be healthy? Or are you just being healthy for selfish reasons? When you are old will you have poured out your body on what was good, children, church, family, and the Kingdom? Or will you have worked hard to be healthy only to find that Like Scrooge in his counting room you sit there in front of the mirror with your fit, healthy body and nothing else. You have saved your body only to lose all that matters. When they lay you in the grave make sure your body is spent.
Fourteenth, our knowledge is partial and limited. I remember an old pastor friend of mine telling me that when he was growing up ice cream was a health food. Ah, the good old days! The results of research and studies often contradict one another. One week coffee is like heroin. The next week it might be the cure for Alzheimer’s. One week eggs are a great heart attack risk. The next week they are the key to your good health. Back and forth we go. This is not a call to ignore science or refuse to do research. But it is a call to be cautious. Our academies are driven by an agenda just like anyone else. Science departments are godless and driven by evolution. Research is driven by money and the government. (For example, I remember in college finding out that a company that sells car seats was trying to up the minimum age for being in a car seat.) Health food gurus are neo-pagans who believe that the Earth is our mother. We can learn from these groups, but only with a healthy dose of skepticism . Their research may be true. It may not be. And it will probably take decades to find out. If it is true it will probably come with strings attached or fine print at the bottom of the page. We should stay away from strong, dogmatic statements based on the latest research. We should also stay away from making others feel guilty based on the latest research.
Last, but certainly not least, your view of the Lord’s Supper says a lot about your view of food. Is the Supper a banquet, where we feed upon the body and blood of Christ? Or is it a place where we do penance, where we hang our heads in sorrow? A low, somber view of the Lord’s Supper can lead to a low view of the created world. This is a huge topic, but a brief word will have to do. The only place outside the Gospels where the Lord’s Supper is explicitly mentioned is I Corinthians 11. There the picture is not one of somberness, but of so much food and drink people were getting drunk. Paul does not tell them to tone it down. But rather he tells them to wait on each other. The Lord’s Supper is a feast. (c.f. I Cor. 5:8) Once we see that, then I Timothy 4:1-5 makes perfect sense and the whole world becomes our banqueting table.<>
