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What does the Bible say about physical and athletic training for men?
As men, we are very physical. One aspect of manhood is being physically strong. Of course, this physical strength must be brought under subjection of spiritual strength, which implies wisdom and understanding from God.
And so while it's rewarding to see your muscular development when shirtless it is important to realize that on the field, you must maintain your focus on greater ideals to succeed.
The Bible talks about bodily training as having value in 1 Timothy 4:8
You strengthening your body, eating at certain times, particularly during your anabolic window and all of these things are good. Those things have value.
However, of greater weight than those things is what the Bible calls godliness. Godliness has value for now and for the time to come. So what we have to realize as men is that the physical nature is good and it has value, but it must be brought under the authority of the Spirit of God, for godliness has benefit for now and for that which is to come.
Physical Training Unto Godliness
How does this apply?
Let's say you're training for a tournament of some sort.
We know you're supposed to eat during your anabolic window. You understand that you're supposed to be doing strength training or resistance training. But the important thing to realize is that there is a higher way than the physical training of your muscles and body. There's a way that is spiritual that will give you the tools that you need to be stronger on the field.
Purpose Makes You Physically Stronger
Did you know that if you think that you have a purpose behind your athletic ability, that you perform better as result of feeling like a winner, as your testosterone levels increase and your chronic stress levels decrease? You also get an increase in your life expectancy.
So what you need is you need to get direction from God as to what to do in that game and what His purpose is on the field or in that training, because what that will do is it will strengthen your physical body so that you can perform better.
Now we know when doing resistance training that the more you can lift and push your body and progress during each consecutive workout, the better you will do in the long run. Imagine now having the spiritual purpose behind what you do that makes you stronger each and every workout and at every tournament!
The godliness factor, when applied to your physical or athletic training, makes what you do in the physical realm a whole lot better.
As men of God, let us remember that God's Word doesn't just work in The Church. It works everywhere, and can be applied to every area of our lives.
So as men, let us understand that the physical is good, but the spiritual is even better and it has value for the present and the life to come.
Read My Article On Manhood and Being A Man From A Biblical Perspective (Must Read)
