Most of us hear the word "training" and think about the gym. Lifting, running, maybe trying to drop a few pounds.
That's not wrong. But if that's the only reason we train, we'll eventually run out of reasons. Six-pack abs won't do it. A six-figure income won't do it. We'll climb to the top of that building, look around and think, "Man, I think I climbed the wrong one."
So why train at all? Here's how I've come to see it.
Something is always being trained
Here's the deal. There's no status quo. We're either training function or we're training dysfunction. One or the other.
Our health is getting stronger or it's slipping. Our marriage is growing closer or drifting toward taken-for-granted. Our relationship with God works the same way. God's always there. The question is whether we're going to show up.
Few people choose to be disconnected, overwhelmed or unhealthy. Nobody wakes up and says, "I can't wait to be unhealthy in five years." We drift into it. One small compromise, then another, then another.
That's why I love the Casting Crowns song "Slow Fade." I've lived it. I'd be in a Bible study for a few weeks, feeling close to God, and four months later wonder why I felt so far away. I wasn't in the Word. I wasn't praying. I didn't jump off a cliff. I drifted.
Three dimensions, one life
The way I think about The REAL FIT Life is in three dimensions, and they're all connected:
- Spiritual fitness is the foundation. It's who we are, whose we are and why we're here. Without it we can become highly productive and poorly directed. Jesus talked about the wise man who built his house on the rock - the rain came down, the streams rose, the winds blew, and it didn't fall. When life hit me hardest, I knew exactly where to go, because that foundation was already there.
- Mental fitness is the core. Great leader, pastor and author Craig Groeschel says you do what you do because of what you think of you. Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Renewed thinking isn't automatic. It's trained.
- Physical fitness is the body we see. It's the vehicle we get to live, lead and serve through. Scripture calls our bodies temples. They're meant to be stewarded. And if you're dealing with a health condition you never chose, I respect that. The question is just what we can do with what we've been given.
Some of us are strong in our faith and have let our health go, almost like it's fine because we're not caught up in vanity. I get that. But could we serve even better from a healthier, stronger vessel? Scripture says physical training is of some value, and godliness has value for all things. Both matter. One just matters more.
Love, fit and stewardship
Three core values sit underneath all of this.
Love is the oxygen behind the motivation. Motivation is fleeting. We're not going to wake up fired up every day. But we can wake up knowing what matters most, and that's what moves us. Love God and love people. Without love, fitness turns into all the selfish, worldly stuff.
Fit means forever intentionally training our growth to serve others. It's not about becoming a fitness model or comparing yourself to me or anybody else. It's about becoming the best you God created you to be, and then pouring that into someone else.
Stewardship is for whom we train. Our bodies, our minds, our time, our relationships and even our challenges have been entrusted to us. Here's my definition of success: not accumulating more, but faithfully developing and using what God has already given us, to the fullest.
Sunday isn't enough
I'll be honest about how this played out for me. For years I'd hear a powerful message on Sunday, remember it for a few hours, maybe think about it once more that week, and go right back to where I was.
Then I got sick and tired of being sick and tired in my faith life. So I started small. The verse of the day on the Bible app. One verse. Then I started asking, can I apply today's verse, today? I've done that for years now, and I can't put into words what it's meant. Now when I hear a pastor teach, it lands so much deeper, because I've been putting in reps between Sundays.
I'm not a pastor, and there are people much further along in their faith than me. I just know it's mattered for me. And I'm still a major work in process. I've lost 2,000 pounds in my life - the same 20 pounds, 200 times. I'm with you in this.
Your One More Rep: write your sentence
Here's your One More Rep. Grab a notepad - no phone, no laptop - and fill in this sentence:
"Because I love ______, I will intentionally train my ______ by ______, so I can better steward ______ and serve ______."
Here's an example: Because I love God and my family, I will intentionally train my physical health by walking for 17 minutes each day, so I can better steward my energy and stay present for the people I serve.
Pick spiritual, mental or physical. Just one. Keep it small enough that you'll actually do it tomorrow, and the day after that.
If you want a place to start, give God the first 15 minutes of your day. Pray, read, listen, be grateful. Do a little bit, a lot.
We don't train because our worth depends on our performance. We train because we've already been given worth, purpose and people to love. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are one of one.
God bless. Go do something hard today.
