Exercising Naked
Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
What does it means to be godly? What is the end result I am aiming for? What is the prize that Paul wanted Timothy to attain? The Greek word for godly is eusebeia from eu for well and sebomai to be devout. It means doing that which is well-pleasing to God. What I do does not make God love me any more or any less. I do things that are well-pleasing to God to demonstrate my love toward Him. I want to love God with all of my heart, with all my soul and with all my mind (Matthew 22:37). I show my love to God by obeying His commands (John 14:21). And obeying God's commands is well-pleasing to God. Jerry Bridges defines Godliness as “devotion to God which results in a life that is pleasing to Him.”
How can I train myself to be godly? The Greek word for train is gumnazo. From which we get the word gymnasium. Gumnazo literally means to exercise naked. Why do I need to exercise naked? Because back in the day of the Roman empire people dressed in togas. A toga looks like you have a bed sheet wrapped around you. Togas are difficult to exercise in. It would hang around my ankles and trip me while I was running. It would absorb water and drag me to the bottom of the pool while I am swimming the breaststroke. And can you imagine me wrestling some one while wrapped in a bed sheet? The garment is a hindrance to exercise. The athletes went to the gymnasium, took off their togas, and exercised naked. How does that apply to godliness? Why would Paul tell Timothy to exercise naked to godliness? Because he knew that Timothy, like me was prone to getting bogged down and hindered. The author of Hebrews reminds me that “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1, NIV) The things that hinder me are not sins. Hebrews says that sin so easily entangles me, but other things hinder me. They may even be good things. I need to take off both. I need to remove entangling sin and everything that hinders. Lots of things hinder me from doing things that are well-pleasing to God. Here is my partial list, in no particular order:
television Internet surfing movies rationalization sports working out fear of failure fear of what other people will think of me fear of change fear of success fear of hard work striving for success striving for knowledge striving for popularity striving for comfort food shopping music lack of faith among others.
Thats quite a list of hindrances. Actually, some these things may be sins. I am not always sure. One man's sin is another man's hinderance. Like wearing a toga hinders and entangles me during physical exercise, these things hinder and entangle me while training in godliness. They take my time away from practical discipleship maximizers. Maximizers, like prayer and Bible study, help me become the person God wants me to be. I need to remove the togas so I can train to godliness. What hinders you? Take a look at the list below and see if any of these apply to you.
TODAY’S TOGASSOCIALIZING Do you party too much with those who are superficial? Do you have friends or just drinking buddies? Do you spend too much time with a particular person? Do you fellowship (Hebrews 10:24,25) with other Christians or just socialize? Do you spend as much time with God as you do with other people?
CURIOSITY Do you sometimes fantasize or daydream about how your life could be better? Are you sometimes discontent with your life? Do you watch more than 2 hours of television each day? Do you surf the Internet more than 2 hours each day? Do you play more than 2 hours of video games each day?
BOASTING
Do you spend as much time in the Bible as you do in the weight room, in exercise class, in the swimming pool, on the jogging track or otherwise taking care of your body? Do you invest as much effort preparing for spiritual success as you do preparing for academic success? Is the abundant life (John 10:10) more attractive to you than the American dream (marriage, 2.4 kids, home ownership, good stable job)? Are you a busy person? Why? Are you often late to class, meetings, appointments?
CRAVINGS Do you spend more money than you have? Do you steal money from others? Are you a mooch? Do you get angry easily? Do you often think that other people have better “stuff” than you do?
If I lay aside the things that hinder and entangle me, I will have time to do things that are well-pleasing to God. People will wonder what I am up to. I can tell them or let them wonder. But I must remember that what I am doing is normal when I am in training. Olympic athletes train hard, train early and train often. They lay aside foods that provide poor fuel for their bodies. And consume the vitamins, minerals, and supplements they need for peak performance. They lay aside habits that are destructive to their performance and adopt habits that they need to enhance their performance. They avoid negative influences and surround themselves with positive influences so that they can perform at their peak. Go and do likewise! Exercise naked for the rest of your life!
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Posted on June 12, 2008
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