Why workouts are important—it may not be for the reason you think

By Dean Collins

Why do you work out? I’m going to assume many of you do work out. Some of you, like me, have done so for decades. Some of you have impressive and thorough exercise regimens. And others may simply get in some steps every day for 20 minutes to get your heart rate up. I’m not here to evaluate your exercise plan, but if you’re not doing anything, I will simply encourage you to try. It’s good for you.

Motive

But today I really want to talk about the motives for working out and then use them to consider other aspects of our lives. For many of us, it was more vanity than health that got us started taking care of our bodies. You may have been young and single and hoping to find a date and maybe even a spouse and when you looked in the mirror you realized you need to take care of yourself. And you bought the running shoes, or maybe the state of your body justified the expense of a Peleton! And the mirror and your waistline gave you some feedback, so you continued. Good for you. But for some, looking good becomes obsession. It’s not really about health; it’s about appearance.

If you live long enough, your motivation for working out will probably shift. There’s nothing wrong with taking care of our appearance as long as that isn’t the main thing. As we age we exercise so we can continue to do the things we enjoy, like playing a sport or keeping up some hobby like gardening or hiking. Many of us have discovered a bigger reason to stay fit. It’s for someone else’s benefit.

It’s for someone else’s benefit.

Some of you with grandchildren have noticed you need to stay in shape just to pick them up or pick yourself up after you play a game with them on the floor or at the pool. Others of us have noticed that if we don’t stay in shape, we have limited capacity to volunteer at church or in the community because we have no strength or endurance.

Obligation

This reminds me of Paul’s opening sentence in Romans 15: “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.”

His statement stands on the foundation of what precedes it in the first 14 chapters of Romans. If we are in the family of faith having experienced the forgiveness and grace of God, we should be doing the things that make us strong spiritually. Walking in the Spirit instead of the flesh makes us stronger. Being transformed by the renewal of our minds makes us stronger. Submission to authority makes us stronger. Scripture reading and prayer make us stronger. But all this strength isn’t to show off. In fact, none of our spiritual strength should ever be showy according to Jesus and Paul and, frankly, all of Scripture.

None of our spiritual strength should be showy.

Paul says that we who are strong are to help those who are weak. And particularly help with the failures of the weak. This is not meant to suggest we give in and let an immature Christian have their way. The better translation may be not simply to bear with but to bear up those who are weak due to sin or because life happened and they became wounded physically, emotionally, financially, or spiritually. When we see our brothers and sisters struggling, we don’t flex our spiritual muscles just to show off. We reach out and pull them up.

Purpose

Why? Well, Paul gives a couple reasons. 1) We aren’t in this relationship with Jesus just to please ourselves; we are in this kingdom family in order to build up each other. 2) Jesus did the same for us. He didn’t leave Heaven and come just to hang out and let us take a peek at his glory. He came and took our failures and all of our sin and weaknesses to the cross so we might find forgiveness and hope.

The result of getting spiritually mature and bearing with and bearing up those in need results in the development of endurance and encouragement that allows us to experience harmony in our big and beautiful God-sized family. And when that happens, the Holy Spirit will show his power, filling all of us with hope.

So go ahead and work out both physically and spiritually today. Someone needs your help.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Romans‬ ‭15:1-7, 13‬ ‭ESV

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