“Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:7–8, ESV)
There have been a few times in my life when I was in peak physical condition. Once when I was in the military, in particular while in the Army Ranger training, and then later when I was training for a half-marathon. I felt the best physically in these times. I was in peak physical condition. This was due to the physical training regimen that I went through. Unfortunately, there were other times when I was out of training and not in good physical condition.
There is a significant metaphorical parallel between physical training and spiritual training. Both have a regimen that will put one in peak condition. This is the metaphor that Paul presented to Timothy in a letter where he wrote these words.
“Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
Physical training is often difficult. We can often find it difficult to get our diets under control and to get out and do some physical exercise, but it is essential for good health. It is the same for our spiritual health.
How do we train ourselves for godliness? It is through exercising certain disciplines of the Christian life. As mentioned in previous devotions, we must partake of the correct spiritual food, that is the word of God. Unless we spend ample time consuming the word of God, we will become spiritually anemic.
Yet beyond the intake of the word of God, we need to practice what we learn. James tells us to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22, ESV). As it is easy to become lazy in our physical life, we can also become lazy in our spiritual life by failing to contemplate and apply what we learn in our daily lives.
What does this laziness look like? It is seen in a variety of ways, such as a failure to spend time with the Lord in prayer, or to fail to meet with God’s people on a regular basis. It can be seen in the way we conduct our lives outside of the church environment, perhaps failing to display the fruit of righteousness in our daily activities. Perhaps it is in the way we manage our finances. In essence we need to practice staying in step with the Spirit in life, keeping our focus on and striving towards the goal set before us.
Renewing the Heart 