“…Exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” 1 Timothy 4:7-8

Exercising

I know a woman who told me she spends far too much energy on physical exercise. She hops out of bed in the morning and goes for a long, sweaty run. Later, she goes to the gym. She rides her bike in the evenings. I’ve read about people who experience a feeling of wellbeing from extensive exercise; I have no personal acquaintance with this feeling! But she admits she’d rather exercise than read the Bible or pray, and she knows this is a problem for her.

This woman knows about discipline, exertion to reach a goal, daily habits, and commitment to health now and in her future. Any real exercise requires these things, and benefits are most realized when accompanied by proper nutrition.

I wonder if the women of Bible days ever worried about gaining weight. I wonder if they thought about atrophied muscles, or gray hair, or wrinkles. I should think the daily toil of life was exercise enough, but Paul does mention exercise in today’s Scripture. Perhaps he was thinking of athletes and warriors, who trained and exercised for events and battles. In any event, bodily exercise profited them only a little bit, and only temporarily.

What profits every aspect of life is godliness, and this is what we are to exercise. Godliness means Godlikeness: to have the character and attitude of God. Godliness is what makes life better—it benefits everything. It brings “the promise of the life that now is”: “Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings” (Isaiah 3:10). Godliness benefits our mind, our soul, our spirit, and our body. It benefits our spouse, our children, our neighbors, our workplace, our mood, our attitude, and our responses. It impacts how we spend our time, what we think about, how others see us, and what we hope and dream for. It fulfills us, satisfies us in this life, and causes us to be content.

Exercising toward godliness also brings promises “for that which is to come.” We don’t know all about crowns and rewards in eternity, but Scripture is clear that these things exist.

And let’s not forget the little word tucked in this verse: toward. It’s a direction. A place to reach for. “I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).

“Father, teach us to exercise in the way that leads to godliness, pressing forward for the prize of Your upward call. Amen.”