I like to run.
I like to run fast and competitively.
And yet, I know that running, particularly when it involves competition, can very easily become a self-centered and prideful pursuit.
Today’s Ask Pastor John episode is titled “Three Metrics for Your Fitness” and it got me thinking about this topic. I’d encourage you to read or listen to the whole thing, but since Piper was focused more on the pursuit of body image and health than on competition, I wanted to think through some applications for racing chasing goals.
Piper asks three questions to help diagnose the spiritual value of one’s fitness regime:
- Is that pursuit a genuine desire to defeat sin in my own life?
- Is that pursuit of fitness a genuine desire to become more useful in serving the temporal and eternal good of others?
- Is my pursuit of fitness expressing a genuine desire to show that Christ is more valuable to me than my looks or my health or my reputation as disciplined?
Let’s consider those one by one. First, does racing and training help defeat sin in my life? I think that can be a very convicting question. Here’s how I approach it. While I set aggressive goals and like to compete, my primary motivation for running and training is not those things. I know that I’m healthier and my mind works better when I’m fit. And having a well functioning mind is important to fighting sin. Ultimately, the time goals and races serve to place some urgency on regular training. If I have an upcoming race on my calendar, it’s easier to get out the door for a run when I’m busy. Additionally, while I’m very competitive in the moment of racing, I’ve learned to move on quickly. I generally refused to be defined by the results of any race or achieving any goal. Whenever I notice that I’ve become focused on results, then I realize I need to pause and re-evaluate.
As far as serving others, I mentioned already that my mind works better when I’m at a certain level of fitness. That becomes important when preaching, teaching, and writing. I’ve also found that being fit improves my body’s ability to handle stress of all sorts. Preaching a sermon is exhausting in all sorts of ways. I recover faster when my body is as healthy as possible. It can be helpful to keep those aims in mind when training so that running faster isn’t an end in itself. I also find it helpful to think primarily about competing against myself. Hitting a faster time or a new distance is more important than how many other people finished ahead of me. One of the best things about competitive running (at least for non-elite athletes) is that everyone can have different goals and we can support one another in a way where everybody wins (and not just in a silly “everyone is a winner” sense).
In the area of competition, Piper’s last question gets to the heart of what happens afterwards. Do you meet a goal and react by giving thanks to God? Or are you impressed with yourself and what you’ve just done? In Daniel 4, the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar looks out over his kingdom and is very impressed with himself and all that he has built. So God strikes him with a madness that leads to him eating grass like an ox. When his reason is restored, he humbles himself and gives glory to God. When you win, are you impressed with yourself or with the God who made every molecule of your body? Are you drawing attention to yourself or to the One who sustained every moment of your training? Likewise, if you fail to meet a goal, do you still pause and worship or do you become even more dedicated to the next attempt?
This question also touches on how we order our training in relationship to the rest of our lives. Paul tells Timothy to “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. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe” (1 Tim 4:7-10, ESV). We can train hard and race hard, but we need to remember to put any sort of fitness into its proper place.
If training and competing leads us to sin, draws us away from serving others, or distracts our focus or the focus of others from God Himself, then it’s time to re-evaluate our training regimen and probably ease up on things for a time.
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