Do Fitness And Worship Go Together?

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Coco

How do fitness and worship go together?

After some thoughtful prayer (prayerful thought?), three main ideas came to mind: stewardship, gratitude, and humility.

Stewardship

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (I Corinthians 6: 19-20)

Our bodies are a gift from God that we have an obligation to take care of. God entrusted us with our bodies so that we can do His work in the world. We need to take care of ourselves to have the strength, stamina and wherewithal to carry out our mission as members of the Body of Christ.

Gratitude

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
(Psalm 19:1) 

When I am out on a run and see a gorgeous sunrise, pretty flowers, or other scenic vistas, I feel deeply blessed. Before I became interested in fitness, I took my body for granted. Now that I know more about how our bodies work, I have a much greater appreciation for the complexity of our physiology, and the miracle of how everything works together. It only took one injury for me to be thankful for every day that I can run, and now I know that health and fitness really are precious gifts to be treasured. 

Humility

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (I Samuel 16: 7)

As much as I think that being fit is important and can help me glorify God, I don’t think that my fitness level is that important to God. Yes, God wants me to be healthy, but He has bigger priorities than how fast I can run or how many burpees I can do. Most days, exercising is a valid priority, but sometimes there really are more important things to do. I need to remember that my workouts are nothing to brag about (#sweatyselfies notwithstanding!), it is how I treat and care for others that really can give glory to God.

Do you think fitness and worship go together?

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One Response to Do Fitness And Worship Go Together?

  1. Tess Moore says:
    May 12, 2014 at 5:52 am

    Absolutely. I think it is always appropriate to be mindful of the force behind your worship …to make it your own and not what you think it is for others. The Lord is in all things and I pray I’m aware of that in all things. Making HIM apart of all (not just some parts of my life) I do is important for me. Thank you for making us all a little more aware of this idea.

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