Over the past week or so I have been transfixed on the TV watching the Olympics. I love the Olympics, I think it is an incredible display of athleticism and competition and to see people triumph in these high pressure situations is remarkable.
These world-class athletes have my total respect for their absolute commitment to the training and discipline required to be first in the world. You may have heard some of these stories. One girl, a teenage swimmer, gets up at 5:00 am and goes to swim practice. Then she goes to school, then to swim practice again, and then goes home and does her homework…every single day. Another athlete described the careful watch and restrictions he places on his diet, exercise, and really anything that affects his body, even to the point of measuring the amount of lactic acid he has inside of him after a race to tell him the way in which he should cool down. World champion sprinter Usain Bolt summed it up by saying that he trains for 4 years straight for a 9 second race. That is some incredible determination and discipline.
As a Christian, we should be disciplined as well. 1 Timothy 4:7 tells us to ‘discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness.’ The word for ‘discipline’ is the word gumnazo which is where we get the word gymnasium from. The idea of practice, training, and determination is very evident. Paul is telling Christians that their commitment and work for godliness is similar to the way an athlete trains his body for competition. This means that Christians need resolve, fortitude, and hard work in the area of their pursuit of godliness.
We know that we are disciplined in a lot of things. You discipline yourself to wake up in order to be at work on time. You discipline yourself when you are on a diet or on a workout plan. You discipline yourself to make sure your yard work is completed, the trash gets taken out, and that you handle all your daily responsibilities. If discipline is something we already do in various areas, why is it so hard to engage in spiritual disciplines?
Paul says in the next verse that ‘bodily discipline has little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things.’ He is reminding us that discipline in the area of health or eating, really has no lasting value. However, discipline in godliness has eternal value. All the time and energy spent in training for an Olympic sport ultimately means nothing in light of eternity. However, the discipline to read Scripture, pray, be holy, or commit to church has true lasting value.
I think we should take the approach to our daily spiritual disciplines as if we are training and working like a professional athlete. Too many of us try, and then give up quickly. We start that Bible reading on January 1st and by January 4th we’ve quit. Where is the discipline? Where is the determination? Where is the hard work? You have to strive to make these things a habit.
That world champion sprinter I mentioned earlier said this, “I train 4 years to run a 9 second race, and some people who don’t see results in a couple months give up.” He was primarily talking about the commitment to athletics and health, but you see the parallel. Someone says, “I tried to reading my Bible a couple times but it was just too hard.” That is having no commitment, no resolve, no discipline. Work hard, train your body, train your life to sit down and spend time with God. Discipline your life to make sure church is a priority, moving things around so that God comes first. Discipline your life to make holiness a priority, cutting out sin. It is not impossible, it just takes hard work.
Think of those athletes. If they are willing to work hard and alter their lifestyle for a 9 second race with a payoff that is temporary, then how much more should the Christian work hard for a reward that is eternal? Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.