So another Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are left with fond memories... and excess pounds. Should we feel guilty about this or make a plan to discipline ourselves in matters of physical fitness?
I Timothy 4:8 – “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
Paul writes to Timothy pastoring a church in Ephesus. Ephesus is located across from the Aegean Sea next to Greece – a country that worshiped the body at the expense of the spirit. Paul is trying to help Timothy understand and teach proper priorities in one’s life. So, he says in verse 7, “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” The word “discipline” also means train. In verse 8, Paul says physical exercise has its value as well as the pursuit of spiritual fitness. Paul encourages both types of training to take place, but that godliness should always have a higher priority. Paul challenges us to “run the Christian race” and commit ourselves as an athlete – ultimately that our entire life may glorify God. We are using something that is of some value (sports and recreation) to pursue something of greater value (godliness) as we run for “the crown that will last forever.”
Studies have shown that exercise gives us physical and mental concentration, stronger muscles and bones, helps us sleep better, reduces fatigue, depression, and anxiety, fights heart disease, and generally gives a longer, healthier life.
Jason David Frank, who famously fought villains in his white metallic armor as Tommy the Power Ranger, encourages physical fitness through his martial arts clothing line "Jesus Didn’t Tap". Frank says, “Jesus is the only one that truly didn’t tap. They say, ‘Oh, he was nailed to the cross so he couldn’t tap.’ Well, you can verbally tap, you can verbally cry, ‘I quit! I give up!’ That’s not what he did. He got crucified for all our sins.”
Let's make exercise a priority – it has some value! It is not a waste of time - it is an investment into your life – your quality of life. Pray and ask God to help you – even if you just start a few times a week to get moving for even just 15 minutes. And then live your life passionately for God – with energy!
By faith, George Mueller overcame huge obstacles and established many orphanages throughout England that fed and housed thousands of orphans. Mr. Mueller believed that faith rested upon the Word of God. He said, “When sight ceases, then faith has a chance to work.” As long as there was any possibility of human success, he felt that faith could accomplish nothing. His motto was “God is able to do this; I cannot.”
These kinds of choices are called faith choices or non-feeling choices. They are choices to believe and trust in God (regardless of how we feel) in the midst of huge obstacles. Faith choices are simply saying, “not my will but Thine,” just like Jesus did in Matthew 26:39.
We must take our eyes off the temporal situations and focus on God’s eternal plan. That’s our hope! That’s our destiny! And that’s our future! Not the temporal things of today. He created us, He called us, and He has instilled that ultimate purpose in our hearts. And the only way it will be realized is when we, by faith, align ourselves with His plan.
'I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers…that ye may know what is the hope of His calling…what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe'… — Ephesians 1:16–19 As we pursue lives of faith, we can easy be overwhelmed with all the needs that we see around us, leaving us paralyzed feeling unable to act. Ambassador Tony P. Hall, had this experience when in India. He had the opportunity to meet Mother Teresa and as they were walking through the streets of Calcutta she stopped to care for people along the side of the road. Tony said to her, “What can I possibly do to help end hunger around the world? I can’t even help the hungry people on this street!” After a few minutes she said, “Tony, you just need to do the thing that’s in front of you. No more, no less.”
The twenty-first century has already given us a rapid growth in knowledge, and will continue to be stranger than we can imagine, especially in the areas of science and technology. What was once considered science fiction will soon become science fact. In recent years, the concepts of intelligent machines and computers
manipulating a person’s mind have become popular through movies such as
Short Circuit, The Matrix, and Star Trek Nemesis which proclaimed that "to be human is
to seek self-enhancement."
Widely noticed publications, such as the NSF/DOC-sponsored report
“Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance” and the final
report of the President’s Council on Bioethics, “Beyond Therapy:
Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness,” have given close attention
to human enhancement through technology.
Bio-technology’s
popular uses shows a long list, among them weight loss, hair
growth, birth control, teeth straightening, and sex selection of
children.
Transhumanism takes human enhancement even further, by changing the
vision of a perfect man into a human-machine complex properly called
“posthuman.” This is an effort to break every human limitation and
redefine personhood. Nick Bostrom, Oxford philosophy professor and
co-founder of the World Transhumanism Association, writes that
posthumans will realize eternal youth and health, gain complete control
over their minds and emotions, and “experience novel states of
consciousness” that present human minds cannot imagine. Post-humans may even choose to discard their bodies in favor of life as
“information patterns on vast super fast computer networks, or transferring their mind into another body to extend their life. This raises questions that the church needs to consider over will this new "person" have a soul and will they have the ability to receive Christ as their Savior?
As the Bible says in Genesis 11:6, "...now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do." How long will it be before His patience is once again exhausted?
Some of the more bizarre terrors in the Book of Revelation seem less strange as we peer into the emerging world of biotechnology. The "iron mixed with miry clay" in the image of the final world empire portrayed in Nebuchadnezzar's dream of Daniel 2 has also puzzled scholars for centuries. "And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay." - Daniel 2:43
To "mingle themselves with seed of men," they have to be something other than the seed of men. What can they be? Are they hybrids produced by cloning? Are they Nephilim produced by fallen angels? (The Restrainer of 2 Thessalonians 2 may be restraining far more than we have any idea.)
It is time to diligently do our homework; the days are getting stranger with every bizarre breakthrough and our time is getting shorter. There is no priority in our life more urgent than our spiritual preparation. None of these things is unanticipated in God's plan for you and me. And there is no way to be ready for what's coming unless you know your Bible...and unless you have a personal relationship with its Author!
The transformation Christians should be seeking is not the physical or psychological enhancement found in science, reason, or technology, but rather the trans-forming work found only in God’s supernatural work through His Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). Romans 12:2 says:
"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:2
Christians need to be aware of Transhumanism and its various forms, but they need not concern themselves with seeking something they cannot and should not attain—autonomous perfection in a utopian world society. Man’s salvation is found only in the perfect and complete atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ and his promise of eternal life, as a free gift, to those who believe in him (Romans 3:23-26; Ephesians 2:8-9).
So where does this leave us in regard to the morality of this? The technology per se is not immoral any more than the Internet or television is immoral. It is Man’s use of it and his motivation that is at issue. However, if we attempt to thwart God’s power for our own personal gain, then the use of genetic engineering cannot be condoned. Also, for whatever reason, if the use of the technology is for eugenic purposes or to create biological weapons, it is clearly immoral.
As Christians, we must be the “Watchmen on the Wall” in regard to the use of this technology. We should question—loudly—technology and techniques that might lead to hasty or untested results. We need to provide a moral compass to assure that the results of genetic engineering do not degrade the integrity of Man nor make a mockery of God’s creation.
Singer/songwriter Sara Groves speaks on bio-ethics:
