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What goals do you have? Do you have aims for your job, your household, your personal life? Paul thinks you should have an overarching goal, and it’s the goal he wrote about to Timothy.
“Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:7b–8).
Paul employs the metaphor of an athlete who is training to compete. And he recognizes that bodily training “is of some value.” There are bone and muscular benefits, there are mental health benefits, and there are organ and immune system benefits to regular exercise.
Why is bodily training of only “some value”? Because graveyards are filled with people who ate well and went regularly to the gym. Bodily training cannot defeat death. So while bodily training is of some value, it is not of ultimate value.
Bodily training involves focus, sacrifice, commitment, and endurance. Let’s think about each of these terms.
Focus—You need to know why you’re training. What’s the goal? Why are you putting yourself through the rigor of training? Do you have your eye on the prize?
Sacrifice—If you’re in training mode, you can’t live like those who aren’t training. Your mindset is different. You forgo what inhibits your training. You let your goal shape your behavior in the present. This behavior involves sacrifice—costly obedience for the sake of the prize.
Commitment—Training is not something you do for an hour every other week. In life, you’re already committed to what matters to you. But are you committed to what matters to God? Sometimes there may not be an overlap between what matters to us and what matters to the Lord. The Bible’s priorities for your soul’s well-being must become your priorities.
Endurance—The act of training is going to require perseverance because training is difficult. Imagine saying to your trainer, “Now as we get started, I don’t want to do anything difficult.” Laughable! Endurance is crucial to building strength and stamina.
These four notions are crucial for bodily training, and they’re crucial for Christian living. The pursuit of godliness requires focus, sacrifice, commitment, and endurance. Paul knows that training is a perfect metaphor for Christian obedience—training “for godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7b).
This kind of training has value for the present life and the life to come. In other words, there is an all-compassing value to this pursuit. Don’t you want to invest in what matters most? Don’t you want to give yourself—your time, your resources, your energy—to what is of surpassing value?
Then train yourself for godliness. Take responsibility for your walk with Christ. Practically, this training will involve several things.
Become a student of Holy Scripture, setting aside regular times during the week to read and reflect on what it says. Devote yourself to prayer—mentioning not only your own needs but also interceding for those in your church, your family, your workplace, your city, your nation, and the world. Get involved in a local church, which means more than just faithful attendance (though it is not less than that); serve others and meet needs. Fight sin; identify the areas in your life where you may be compromising and then pursue both repentance and strategies of accountability and mortification. Build godly friendships; this takes time, but sanctification is a community project, and we need to walk with the wise to grow wise.
Be a serious disciple of Jesus. Take responsibility for your pursuit of the Lord through the means of grace he has provided. Train yourself for godliness.