Exercising for vain reasons is wrong. But that does not mean we should neglect physical exercise! Anyone who does so, young or old, is making a mistake. Approached with the right attitude, exercise can have excellent benefits—and even bolster your ability to contribute to God’s Work!

When God gives you something, you should take care of it. When God put Adam in the Garden of Eden, He told him to “dress and keep” it. He expects you to do the same with your home and your belongings (e.g. Proverbs 24:30-34; Ecclesiastes 10:18).

The same principle applies in caring for your physical body. It is a basic responsibility. It shows gratitude to God, and it helps you grow and mature as a person.

God wants you to enjoy robust physical health. The Apostle John wrote, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health [physically], even as thy soul prospereth [or as you prosper spiritually]” (3 John 2). You need good health in order to develop to your max physically, mentally and spiritually. You need it in order to selflessly give to others. You need it in order to best serve God and His Work.

Poor physical health can actually hurt your relationship with God. If you’re not sleeping enough, you can’t stay awake in your prayers. If you’re mentally groggy and physically lethargic, you can’t have focused Bible study. Good physical health gives you the energy you need in order to apply yourself spiritually. There tends to be a correlation between taking care of yourself physically and being disciplined and effective in your spiritual life.

You also need good health in order to tackle life’s challenges ahead. It is important in order to grow into a happy, healthy, giving adult. Good health is essential for a man in order to provide for his family, for a woman to care for her home, and for parents to build a strong family, to be active with and set a good example for their children—and for all of us to actively serve others in God’s Family.

When you mistreat your body, you break God’s laws of health and commit physical sin. But abusing your body can also be spiritual sin. The essence of spiritual sin is vanity—self-love. That certainly includes choices like lust, gluttony and sloth—putting your personal comforts, tastes and desires above God and His Work.

Over-exercising can be vanity. But neglecting and mistreating your physical body is also vanity—which is sin. God wants us to glorify Him in our physical body, as well as our spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Regular, moderate exercise is a valuable part of godly life—when it is an expression of self-discipline and outgoing concern. It is simply a component of a healthful lifestyle—an exemplary life of moderation, self-control, and putting God first. God wants you to physically exemplify that godly lifestyle. He wants you to maintain a healthy weight, good muscle tone, ample energy and overall robust well-being.

Caring for your physical body teaches specific spiritual lessons. There are strong corollaries, for example, between the strength, fitness and character you build by working hard and pushing through physical difficulties, and the spiritual strength that comes through enduring trials (e.g. 2 Corinthians 4:17).

The Apostle Paul admonishes us to exercise discipline in our lives. “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25). Temperate means self-controlled, governing the self. When an athlete is training, he exerts control over himself—disciplining himself to get proper sleep, good nutrition, regular exercise and purposeful training. He abstains from anything that would interfere with his athletic goal. It is amazing how much self-control people can exhibit in order to obtain a medal or a title—a corruptible crown!

Paul says we need that mindset in our lives, both physically and spiritually. “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under [or discipline] my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (verses 26-27). Paul brought his physical body “into subjection”—meaning he led it into slavery; claimed it as his slave; he treated it as a slave—not with abuse of course—but with severity, subject to stern and rigid discipline! Paul did not allow his physical passions to master him or to compromise his spiritual life. He mastered himself. He forged his own body into a tool for God’s Work!

That was the mind-set of this incredibly effective servant of God. There was no vanity in that—it was all for God! We would all do well to follow that example!