10 Chapter 1: Biblical Foundations 2:6). Everything in our lives is interconnected when it comes to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual disciplines. We are holistic beings with different facets to our being. Thus, overcoming laziness in exercise can help us overcome laziness in other areas of our lives. Enjoying the benefits of bodily activity can help us lean into, as opposed to draw away from, activity and God-centered ambition in life. Exercise can teach us to press through resistance in any difficulty and not simply give in and quit when it becomes hard. This is good training for life. We were promised tribulation in this life (John 16:33; Rom. 5:3-4; Jas. 1:2-4) and we are called to endure in the race set before us (1 Cor. 9:24-27; Heb. 12:1-3). Exercise can help to develop a mindset and promote habits of perseverance where we will actually gravitate toward dealing with the hard things of life in a healthy way. Physical exertion, thus, can be a means of growing in character and, by God’s grace, following Jesus more effectively. Pleasure. All people seek pleasure, and we were made by God to find our ultimate satisfaction in him (Ps. 16:11). This is sensible, since it is only in God, we can have infinite and eternal pleasure. We are to enjoy God above all things, lest we be guilty of idolatry (Ps. 115:1-8) and we are to enjoy God in all things (Ps. 43:4) since all of his good gifts ultimately point back to him, including exercise. A sedentary life is in actuality a more stressed life, physically, mentally, and emotionally. The remainder of this textbook will speak more to the scientific facts regarding physical fitness, but it cannot be denied that God designed our bodies to feel more pleasure as we use them in assertive ways. If you have not put physical fitness on your priority list, there is no doubt that pleasure may not be the first thing you feel as you get started. However, there truly is pleasure to be experienced, and it seems by divine design. God put chemicals into our bodies, like endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin, and these chemicals are brought up to raised levels in our bodies during intensive sessions of aerobic workouts. And these bodily chemicals produce feelings of pleasure that are undeniable. God made us to move, and made our movement to contribute to our health and happiness, and all of this is meant ultimately to draw our attention and affections back to God himself. Community. The Christian life is a life that is lived together, committing ourselves to other Christians, particularly in the context of the local church. We are called to exhort one another everyday so that we are not hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:12-13) and to spur one another on to love and good works (Heb. 10:24-25). Certainly, this can and should be done on a Sunday morning as we gather for worship as a local church, but it needs to happen throughout the week if we are to grow and endure faithfully. There are many venues where this could happen, including exercising within that community of people. Exercise is an excellent opportunity to take some extended time to talk about the latest sermon you heard, review what you have been reading in Scripture, discuss theological questions and concepts, testify to God’s hand of providence in your life, find accountability for issues of temptation, and provide ways you can pray for one another. This is a great way to redeem the time (Eph. 5:15-16) by exerting your body and encouraging one another in living as disciples of Jesus. Evangelistic opportunity. Faithful Christians have a mindset of constantly sharing the good news about Jesus (1 Pet. 3:15), and the settings of physical activity provide unique opportunities for evangelism on account of the shared interest and pursuit. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul describes the
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