A Deeper Purpose For Exercise

I found the most interesting story in the Old Testament about how serious God is about people taking care of the temple entrusted to them. Before the Holy Spirit was given to us and our bodies became temples, the Spirit of God dwelt in such structures as a portable, tent-like sanctuary called the tabernacle and the beautiful temple originally built by King Solomon in Jerusalem.

During the time of the prophet Haggai, God’s people had returned from being in exile in Babylon. One of the first things they set about to do was rebuilding the temple. They started with great enthusiasm and wonderful intentions, but slowly slipped back into complacency and eventually stopped their work on the temple altogether. Other things seemed higher priorities — more urgent, more appealing. Here is how Haggai describes it:

Oh, this reminds me just how divided my heart can be when it comes to taking care of my body — God’s temple. Like these people, I could so easily say, “I’m not in a season where it’s feasible to take care of my body. I just can’t find the time between the kids, my work responsibilities, running a home, paying the bills, and all the day-to-day activities. It’s just not realistic for me to exercise.” But the Lord issues strong cautions to “give careful thought to [our] ways” and to make time to “build the house” so that he may be honored.

Note that God’s people neglected rebuilding the temple for ten years. Each year something else seemed to be more important. That’s the way exercise was for me. Year after year, something else always took precedence.

However, if I was really honest, I had to admit that I made time for what I wanted to make time for. I wasn’t giving careful thought to my ways. I wasn’t making a plan to exercise each day and giving that time the same priority as much more minor things. For example, I always seemed to find time to watch a favorite TV show or chat with a friend on the phone. Just the same, the Jews who returned from Babylon obviously had time to do things they really wanted to do as well. They found the time and energy to put paneling up in their own homes while ignoring the home of the Lord.

The Israelites suffered severe consequences for failing to care for the Lord’s temple: “Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops” (Haggai 1:10). Now, I’m not saying God will cause bad things to happen to us if we don’t exercise. But there are natural consequences for not taking care of our bodies. People who don’t care for their bodies now will live the consequences of those choices at some point. Whether it’s more weight and less energy now or heart disease later, our choices matter both physically and spiritually. Spiritually, I feel much more weighed down by stress and problems when I’m not taking care of my body. Physically, I have less energy to serve God and more emotions to wade through when processing life.

I fully realize my temple may not be God’s grandest dwelling, but I want to lift up to the Lord whatever willingness I have each day and dedicate my exercise as a gift to Him and a gift to myself.