When I tell people I am building a faith-based fitness company one of the first questions I get is usually “what does faith have to do with fitness?” For the most part, there are a lot of people who exercise and never ever think that their faith plays a big part in what they’re doing. And there are many of us who go to church or read the Bible and don’t think that a healthy lifestyle can influence our relationship with God. The fact is we were created for many systems to work together holistically. We have our physical bodies, emotions, spirit, and mentality. All four of these work together and influence each other. We know that if we work out we will feel better in the long run. Maybe not immediately, because sometimes we are sore. But we know overall, we feel better when we work out. We know there are chemical aspects; such as the release of endorphins which affect our feelings and overall countenance.
After giving that explanation it makes sense to most people. It also reveals a beauty in faith that many had not recognized previously. Namely that the material world matters, how you look matters, and how you feel matters too. And the God that created us wants you to be happy with how you look and feel. There is also a practicality that resonates with people regardless if they have a faith or not. My explanation may not have won over the most ardent skeptics but many have, at least, found value in approaching a healthy lifestyle through the framework of faith. Now I don’t mean with a zealous or fanatic attitude, as many attribute those attitudes to people of faith. But mainly in understanding how fitness, nutrition, and faith all work to improve the overall health of the person.
One thing I tend to cover quickly, out of necessity, is that everyone has some sort of faith, whether they realize it, or not. When I say this some people are quick to reject it. They see faith as being something where they go to a temple, church, or synagogue and commit some ritualistic acts of worship. Or even those identified as being more “spiritual” than “religious” don’t believe they have a faith as they too don’t participate in worship. But those things aren’t always necessary for faith. The words of David Foster Wallace come to mind when I hear those responses,
“There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship…If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It’s been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness.”
When you look at Wallace’s quote it accurately broadens the purview of faith. But the key to that quote lies in the question; “where [do] you tap your real meaning in life?” Or to put it another way, what gives life meaning? What makes life worth living and what is the highest good or virtue? At a minimum, you derive meaning in life from one of two places; inside or outside yourself. Many will say they make their own meaning out of life and in saying so they are really saying that they are solely responsible for making life meaningful and worth living and we must realize just how much faith that requires. You must make meaning and morality out of this world then live up to it and be happy with the outcome. Now, why would I see that as being important to my physical health? Because of your faith, what you trust, and where you find purpose ultimately form your worldview. A worldview is simply how you view and understand the world. This includes how you view yourself, your challenges, obstacles, victories, and source of motivation. All of those things are critically important to a healthy lifestyle. So if you create your own meaning in life, ultimately what you are saying is that your ultimate source of inspiration and strength is yourself. So the question is when we are faced with that grueling early morning gym session or the grilled chicken with avocado and tomato, do we feel that strong or inspired? Are you always able to inspire yourself? Or do we need additional support? Is there something beyond our own strength at work when we decide to live a healthy life?
For many people, staying consistent with their fitness regimen is a very difficult thing for one reason; motivation or the lack thereof. How do you stay motivated? How do you stay motivated to do something that at times hurts and is boring? That is where your faith comes in. Not just faith that you will look and feel better, but faith that what you were doing; eating healthy, working out, and taking care of yourself somehow fulfills a higher calling or a higher purpose.
Our health encompasses so much more than just our physical bodies. Health does include our physical condition, but it also includes our mental, emotional, and spiritual condition. And all four of those conditions affect and are dependent on the others. The release of endorphins and the chemical changes have an effect on our mental health, those changes also have some effect on our spirit and our emotions. The goal of weights and Glory is to take care of the whole person. Not just your body, or just your spirit, but the whole person. And in doing so we have to remember that we can’t just simply focus on or ignore one part, we have to look at the person holistically.
Weights and Glory methodologies bring a much deeper meaning to the protein shakes, fitness boot camps, and Instagram posts. Is our physical health a piece to a much bigger puzzle? Are the obstacles something completely out of my control or is there anything out there fighting alongside with me? How much of my struggle is mental? Can my emotional state actually make me physically stronger or willing to endure longer? Does the way I view the world affect the way I view myself and ultimately does that change the value I put on my looks? Does being in shape, living healthy, and being active play some part in a much greater purpose? These are questions that we may not always think about but they are critically important to understand health.
For the pro athlete like LeBron James or Tom Brady, their health is a large part of how they make money and provide for their family. Many see being an athlete, or healthy, as their calling. They fight tremendous odds, train long hours, and put their bodies through the wringer for a higher goal. Most times that goal is a championship, beating some record, to be a part of the team, and sometimes just to reach greater heights. But is that calling limited to just athletes? The purpose of your fitness could include a multitude of things. It is easy to disregard a calling as something grandiose or religious. But it is very common to want a life worth meaning, again this is where faith plays a critical role.
There are many physically taxing jobs that have great meaning. For those professions; firefighters, transportation workers, police, construction workers, and even retail clerks and managers, they will notice a big difference in their ability to perform their jobs depending on how healthy they are. So if your job is a God-given calling then your health is an even bigger deal! You need to be healthy to do your job! Your health directly affects how well you do in that vocation. I had a pastor who loves going to the gym because of the opportunity to communicate and share the gospel. Working out created common ground and led way for meaningful conversations. The purpose for some is that they are leading by example and showing their children that being healthy is important. When it comes to being a good role model, especially for parents, how healthy you are affects your calling to be a better parent, grandparent, or even aunt or uncle.
For me, it is pushing my body to its limit! I love to show people how wonderful a Creator we have by revealing the capabilities of His creation. But one of the best reasons I have heard can be traced back to 1st Corinthians 9:27. I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. Paul, “beats his body into submission”, and the training that you do can get your body and your mind past the pain and agony thru denial of what it wants, rest. You put your flesh in check and let it know that you are not a slave to it but it is a slave to you. And in doing so, it may be easier for you to resist some of those temptations that seek to derail you. Laziness, doubt, envy, cravings, and many other vices all become easier to control when you exercise control over your body.
A lot of times you look at people with great faith and say I can never do what they did because what they did was so hard it requires so much discipline and endurance. But the fact is that it takes time and there are things that we can do to help build up our ability to reach that level. Working out is one of them. In doing so you can sharpen your mind and condition your spirit to fight against the temptations that seek to destroy you, your family, and the people around you. And I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want to be stronger and more focused, especially when it helps those around you.
There are many ways that faith impacts your health, and the list goes far beyond what I have covered in this post. So this is mainly to serve as an introduction to looking at your health in a brighter light! It means so much more than just looking good or squeezing into that outfit. Your health is more than just your physical condition. When you look at your health with your spirit you will tend to see that you are less willing to let obstacles stop you! The stakes are too high! You see how much is affected by the little changes and, in fact, you see how much there is to gain by making even the smallest changes.
Our mission is to equip you to “become the creation that you were made to be.” There are times where you may look in the mirror and say, ‘this is not me’, ‘I’m supposed to be thinner’, ‘I’m supposed to be stronger’, ‘I’m supposed to be faster’, or ‘I’m supposed to be bigger.’ And many times you are correct. And we are here to guide you to your goals. My hope is that if you are looking to make some changes that you make some now and encourage others to do the same. But to do so you need all pistons firing. You need all systems in sync.
The body can’t do what the mind isn’t ready for,
the mind can’t be ready for what the heart isn’t open to,
and the heart can’t be open to something the spirit isn’t walking towards.
So we work to help you get them all in line so you can reach greater heights, achieve greater things, and reveal a greater glory.
