Feb 12 2010Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily inGod—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful,but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today andforever. 1 Timothy 4:7-8 (MSG)I’ve been working out, trying to improve my physical condition and shape. Afterall in a few short weeks Susie and will be lounging around Hawaii, and I want tobe able to strut up and down the beach looking like a real HBOM (hunking blockof manliness) for my woman. Actually I got back on the get-into-shape trail a fewmonths ago after my older brother suffered a heart attack; it shook me up, to saythe least. But if all this exercise improves my HBOM-factor with the babe I am notopposed.Anyway, I’ve been working out and thus far I am not sure whether or not theagony is worth the results. Finishing is about the best part of each early morningsession. I have to keep reminding myself of the goal: Living a healthy, long, andproductive life.The paraphrased scripture you read above more literally reads, “Have nothing todo with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.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,” 1 Timothy 4:7-8(NIV). So how does one become a “hunking block of godliness?” I think there aresome parallels to physical exercise that are helpful:• Remember the goal – being able to live a productive, fruitful, and joyful lifewith and to the glory of God. “Spiritual flabbiness,” and ungodliness aredetrimental to our spiritual health.• For exercise to work discipline is required. No Olympian just trains everynow and then or just when she feels like it. The bummer/reality is that it is somuch easier to get out of shape than to get into and stay in shape.• It takes time. No one gets into shape overnight and no one turns up godlyafter a week.• There are always obstacles. The rainy weather has not helped myrunning, and I can’t tell you how often some sprain or pain or somethingunpredictable in my schedule has set me back, has gotten me out of a goodroutine.• One difference is that it is possible to get into shape all by yourself (althoughencouragement never hurts), but for the acquisition of godliness the presenceof God is essential. Thus the beginning point for improving our godlinessfactor is the cultivation of all the habits and practices that anchor uscontinually in the presence of God (here’s a short list: the ways of the HolySpirit, prayer, reading/meditating on/ learning to understand and live theBible, corporate worship, serving, ….)Did you notice that “godliness has value for all things?” Age definitely whittles onthe HBOM-factor, but our godliness-factor can increase exponentially as we growolder. It is one thing for Susie to watch me run up and down the beach and say, “allthat exercising surely got you looking like an HBOM;” it’s quite another thing forGod to look down and say, “there is one of my godly men running on the beach.”Love you, to God be all glory, your glad to be your pastor Hans