Bodily Exercise Profits Little but Spiritual Exercise Profits Much

Over the last two years I have been on a fitness journey. Long ago in a galaxy far far away, I went on a vacation with two friends. Being the consummate geeks we are, we went to Florida to visit the amusement parks in the Tampa and Orlando areas. We were especially looking forward to going to Disney and dressing as Jedi.

I had lived in Tampa for around seventeen years and my kids were pretty much raised there. I had been to the three parks we were planning to visit more times then I could count and I was looking forward to riding my favorites with my friends.

We started our adventure with Busch Gardens because it was the farthest from our Air BNB and had the most rollercoasters. We made it there and the feelings of nostalgia hit me hard. I was grinning ear to ear and we beelined it to the first ride. Being I was heavy I decided to stop at the mock seat at the front of the ride to make sure I would fit before waiting in the long line. To my ire, I didn’t.

Now, I have been heavy in the past, but I always fit on the rides at Busch Gardens. Maybe it was just this one ride, so I went over and sat down to wait for my friends to get back. After about 30 minutes they returned and we headed to the next ride. You can imagine what happened. I was too big for that one as well. Sadly, this situation repeated itself on just about every ride.

I had just spent around 75$ to walk around and watch my friends ride the rides. It was infuriating and disheartening. Close to when we decided to leave I went to get a churro and a coke while I waited for my friends once again. They came off the ride and sat next to me feeling horrible about the situation, but not knowing what to do about it. I told them it was ok, but it didn’t elevate the cold water the situation had poured over our trip.

As we were talking and I was eating away my feelings, a man walked buy that was very very heavy. I asked if I was that big and my friend Nick said, “Not to be a jerk Jay, but yeah.” We left soon after and the rest of the trip went ok. Disney being the most fun since their rides are all pretty much geared towards everyone of all shapes and sizes, but the experience was an eye opener for me.

My other friend Sef was going to school to be a personal trainer and I finally took him up on his offer to help me get in shape. Not only had my weight started to hinder my quality of life with things like the amusement park, but I knew it would lead to health complications and even premature death if I didn’t address the situation.

It has been two years since I started and I have lost 85 lbs., dropped three pants sizes and almost two shirt sizes and I have put on a ton of muscle. The muscle soreness aside, I feel worlds better and I look it too. My confidence has sored and I actually get hit on by women when I go out in public. (It’s nice even though its such a foreign feeling I don’t always know what to do about it.)

With such a drastic change in my physical body you would think I would be satisfied and happier in life. You would be correct in some ways and in others not so much. Becoming so disciplined in this area exposed other areas in my life where I had let my consistency go. Yes, I had just finished my second novel, and even though I could do better there, my writing was not what I was feeling concerned about. No it was my spiritual walk.

1 Timothy 4:8: For 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. NIV

God brought this scripture to my mind and I knew instantly what it was I had been feeling. Yes, I had improved my life in significant ways, but when it came to the most important way, I was slacking. I looked and felt better, I was moving steadily forward in my dreams, but it had been months since I had seriously prayed for more than a few minutes or done more reading of my Bible than a scripture here or there.

For all of my new found physical strength I had become week and emaciated in my spirit. Just like the Green Lantern shirt I was wearing, I had neglected plugging myself into the life giving battery of the spirit. Sure, I wasn’t a complete heathen living a lifestyle of open sin, but I was complacent and week. Where I had heard the voice of the Lord clearly, now it seemed distant and unclear. Where I had been confident and bold, now I was unsure and timid.

How long had it been since I had prayed for someone? How long had it been since I had witnessed to someone who was lost? I seriously had to think about that question. Very few instances came to mind, but a whole slew of times I had acted ungodly did. All the times I gossiped or spoke out of anger came flooding into my mind. When I had I become so week?

John 15:4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. NIV

Sure getting physically healthy was important, but it was nowhere near as important as reclaiming my spiritual health. I had neglected the source of my life and was now withered, weak, and vulnerable. I was a Christian stumbling through life starving and unhealthy. I was a withered branch hanging on for dear life.

Jesus is quite clear in these verses that it is impossible for anyone to do anything outside of Him. I was a Christian trying to live a triumphant successful life apart from Him, and when I looked at my life as a whole, I saw the effects of my neglect clearly. Even in the areas I was making progress I had been stunted. Through Him I could have written more, done better physically, been a better supervisor, a better father, a better friend and overall just found more success in life.

Changing my body has helped me in many ways, but it hasn’t changed my mind. I still struggle with insecurity and feelings of inadequacy. I still struggle with my mouth when I am angry and lust. All of the physical transformations I made hadn’t helped me in the ways that truly mattered. So what if women found me more attractive, and so what if I could play more sports and would most likely live longer. None of that mattered if I have nothing to offer the people in need around, and it certainly won’t matter when I stand before the throne of God.

When Paul wrote this scripture he was dealing with a society that was just as obsessed with physical perfection as we are today. We have Instagram and Facebook and they had statues and other art. We have only fans and they had games where men and women would parade around in the nude to display their beautiful bodies. It was not much different to now and this is why this scripture is still applicable for us today.

We live in a world that is completely given to all the wrong things. They are in love with this world and all it has to offer. They give their lives over to it and worship it. The worship of the body and of sex is nothing new, but we are supposed to be beyond that. Our hearts should be given to Jesus and our minds focused on the spirit.

Romans 8: 5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

A situation recently arose that brought this crashing into the forefront of my life. A friend from work has been dealing with outright paranormal activity and it has been focusing on his youngest daughter. We have talked often and he has asked me for help and I found myself woefully inadequate.

Sure I understand that it is Jesus who does the work, but my lack of spiritual consistency is clearly a problem. Thoughts of the sons of Sceva flooded my mind when he asked me to come over to his house to deal with the spiritual entities. It is moments like this that put everything into perspective real quick. Not only does my friend need the God inside me, but so does his little girl.

As a father of children who went through something similar I know all too well what it feels like to have the enemy target your kids. No amount of physical strength no mater what Hollywood or military types think is going to help in this situation. The only thing that will is Jesus and he chose to send us His church as His representatives, and it was time for me to roll my sleeves up and get to work in the spirit the way I do in the gym.

So in conclusion. It is very important to take care of yourself and your physical body. God wants us to walk in divine health, but that is hard if we consistently do things that hurt our body. That aside, what do we gain if we live a long healthy life but in the end are a failure in all of the areas that really matter. Can your physical beauty or perfection save someone’s soul? Can it help heal their broken heart or help them overcome the traumas of life? Can it bring them closer to Jesus? Can it help you in those areas?

John 5: 29And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. KJV

I know we look at Jesus statement in John 5 as a bit extreme, but there is truth in it. Is your body worth your soul?

So, yes it is important to be healthy, but it is not by far the most important thing. Don’t neglect the eternal for the temporal, because when the end finally comes it will be too late to. Afterall, if you take a second to look at the people around you, you will be vividly reminded of just how important your consistent connection to Jesus really is.

J

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If you want to find to read more from JW Kiefer you can find him at JWKIEFER.COM and on Medium.