Thou Shalt Not....
Greetings all! Half way through
summer already!
Working on those tans or just
working? It's
not like in the days gone by
when you could
sit out in the sun using baby
oil and iodine.
Today that would be grounds for
a guarantee
of one type of skin disease or
another. But
can you remember back when? People
would
worship the sun! They would lay
down and
spread out there arms and strike
a pose that
looks like they were giving glory
to that
flaming ball we call the sun.
Which brings
me to this month's topic. The
comandment:
“You shall have no other gods
before Me."
In the fitness world, especially
bodybuilding,
we tread a very fine line. Bodybuilding
has
been called the sport of vanity,
yet when
done as a lifestyle for all the
benefits
it gives, how can it then be
vain? When you
lift the weights because you
actually enjoy
it the way Dave Draper explains,
how can
it be self-love? When you use
the weight
training and the physique it
creates as a
tool to reach the lost, how can
it be a self-absorbing,
ego creating chasing of the wind?
Easy! When
it becomes your god! Before God
removed my
desire to touch weights, much
less even look
at them, the weights and the
lifestyle were
my god. All I did - my entire
life revolved
around the lifestyle. I couldn't
do anything
without first consulting my training
log.
"Can't do that today - gotta
train legs.
Sorry, can't go out after I train,
gotta
take a nap. Nope, can't go for
a ride, gotta
eat in an hour and a half and
I'm not eating
fast food!" Sound familiar?
The mirror
was my best friend and my worst
enemy, yet
I couldn't pass one without glancing
in it.
(even as I write this, I am disgusted
with
the way I was then.) If bodybuilding
has
become this for you, then you
need to stop
and re-evaluate what you are
doing and why.
Don't get me wrong, it's OK to
want to get
in shape because we should take
care of the
temple. It's OK to have a great
physique,
and even compete. The question
is why are
you doing it? Only you can answer
that one;
we all have our reasons.
As Christians, we have to live
in the world,
among those who are Christians
as we are,
and those who are not. It can
be a dangerous
place - the world. It calls to
us on a daily
basis to come and rejoin it.
However as God's
children, we must resist the
devil and? He
will flee! (Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil
and he will flee from you. James
4:7)
But let's take a look at our
lives. We love
the Lord, we are thankful for
Jesus' sacrifice
and God's mercy and grace yet
we serve other
gods, don't we? Be honest and
search within
yourself. What other god are you serving? Is it money,
your job, a lifestyle, self image
or your
mate? Only you can answer that one.We have only one God and He is a jealous
God and will not accept us bowing
down to
any other, no matter what name
it goes by.
There is no accepted excuse,
no way to justify
putting anything before God almighty.
He
sent His only Son as a sacrifice
so that
we may have eternal life if we
only believe
and confess it with our mouths.
(John 3:16, Romans 10:9) How can we deny Him His rightful devotion,
honor and praise?
And now our prayer. Lord, we
often lose focus
of the big picture - You - please
forgive
us! We are so not worthy of your
mercy and
grace but we are ever so thankful
for it!
You called us to return to our
first love.
We call to you like David! Return
us to the
joy of our salvation and a pure
heart. In
Jesus' name we pray. Amen!
Now, go with God and lift that
iron!
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