Would Jesus Lift Weights?
While flipping through the program at Austin Stone, I saw they offered a Bible study class followed by a CrossFit workout. Huh? Well, that was sufficiently novel enough for me to sign up. Exercise at church? Really? Guess they are taking that “Keep Austin Weird” mantra to heart here.
But I’m really curious to find out what God/Jesus had to say on this subject matter. Full disclosure here: I struggle with my faith. Although raised Irish Catholic I am not well versed in the Bible and if you quoted something to me like John 9:3, I would totally have to Google it to know what you were talking about. I won’t pretend to know any answers, but I will share my questions and musings with you.
I also struggle with my weight and body image, so this class piqued my interest. Is training for a bikini competition a sin? (Vanity?) Was my sedentary lifestyle before a sin? (Gluttony?) Last night was the first class; no workout, just an overview.
The starting point for the discussion was that God created our bodies, therefore we should steward it well. I thought that was an interesting notion. For your reference, he mentioned the section in the Bible that says God made man…and it was good. (Genesis 1:27-31 ESV) So if God made our bodies, He wants us to take care of them, not neglect and abuse them by skipping sleep so we can go out to drink beer and eat junk food.
The person leading the discussion, Chris, seemed to stress the need for balance, too.
He said food is about self control and self-discipline. (Uh oh, I really lack in that department.) And if you lose sight of everything else just to get in fantastic shape that crosses over into vanity. (Well, I had that whole vanity issue even before I lost the weight. Figures I would multitask with sinning to be both gluttonous and vain at the same time, but I digress…)
Balance. That seems to be the key here. Get your priorities in order. Take care of yourself.
Would Jesus lift weights? I don’t know. Maybe by the last class I’ll have a better idea. (It meets for five weeks on Sundays, with free child care – yahoo!) For now, I’m just going to try to steward my body well.
Lisa
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Balance totally. Body building was not a balanced-place for me, that’s why I had to step back from it. Which is why: boundaries are good! 😉 ….and Jesus didn’t have to lift weights; He can already carry the world His hands (LOL!)
I was waiting for someone to say that! LOL
Woot! So cool!
Matthew 6.25: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
Oh – that’s a REALLY good Bible quote! Thank you for telling me about it!