Exercise?!?! Please No!!!

June 22, 2023

Exercise?!?!  Please No!!!

My father had a major heart attack and heart bypass surgery when he was in his 50’s.  In those years, it was mandatory that a heart patient work with a nutritionist to establish a new way of eating as well as a new way of keeping fit.

No one wants to die when they are in their 50’s.  My father was no different; he followed all the instructions regarding diet and exercise to the letter.  These two new disciplines redefined his life-style and greatly extended his life.

However, my father would sometimes get tired of it all.  In particular, he would complain about the exercise.  It was hard to go to the gym, especially when he was in his 70’s and 80’s.  But, he always said the same thing; “I feel so much better when I exercise.” 

My father went to the gym at about 8:00 a.m. each day to exercise about an hour.  He did the cardio, the weights, and the stretches.  When he was finished, he would take a shower, put on clean clothes, and head off to start his day.

I learned something from my father; our health does not just happen.  My father’s daily exercise routine kept him healthy and alert until the last several months before he died at age 90.  I know that exercise is important and it works.

A healthy diet and regular exercise are not only helpful to our body, they are also helpful to our mind, our heart, and our soul.  In I Corinthians 3:16-17, the Apostle Paul writes about the connection of our body and our soul.  He writes;

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person.  For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

Our body is the temple that houses the Holy Spirit.  Paul warns that if we destroy our body, there are consequences that will ultimately be painful.  The Bible calls us to treat our body like a holy gift from our Creator. 

I know and have experienced the mental dimension, the physical dimension, the emotional dimension, and the spiritual dimension of regular exercise.  That is why I exercise every day. 

My wife and I walk four miles almost every day (weather permitting!).  I do a variety of exercises for 20 to 30 minutes five days a week.

And yet, there are days when deep inside I resist.  I have learned that most of the resistance to exercise is not from my body; i.e., sore muscles, fatigue, injury, etc.  Instead, almost all of my resistance to exercise begins in my mind. 

Inside my head, I hear; “Exercise?!?!  Please No!!!”  It’s all I can do to put on my exercise clothes and head to the basement.

And yet, when I remember my body is a temple in which the Holy Spirit takes up residence, it is easier (not easy!) to combat the resistance in my mind.  I am reminded that my health is about how my body, my mind, my heart, and my soul are performing individually and how they are connecting with one another.

I appreciate the example of my father; he kept exercising even when everything inside of him resisted!  I am encouraged by my father’s example, my wife’s example, and the example of the guy who lives down the street. 

I am guessing the man who lives a few houses down the street is in his 80’s.  A couple of times each day, he gets out his stand-up walker and walks past our house.  It looks like he walks about one block. 

Because one foot drags a little on the sidewalk as he walks, I always hear him coming before I see him.  I speak but he is so focused on walking (and probably not falling!) that he does not engage in conversation.  However, his example encourages me to exercise when my mind is telling me to stop.

I offer an invitation.

First, remember your body is a gift of God and the temple which houses the Holy Spirit.

Second, look for some people who will encourage and inspire you to continue exercising.

Third, listen to Christian music while you exercise so your exercise becomes worship.

Fourth, give thanks to Jesus for the gift of life He has given you today.

When we care for our physical health through a good diet and regular exercise, there is both physical and spiritual benefit and blessing.  As you experience these blessings, your heart and your life will be filled with even more delight in the Lord.

So…let’s take care of the temple the Lord God has given us so we can become all He has created us to be!

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug