Lord of Life strengthen us in Spirit, body, and soul: With our mind, heart, and will in your loving control; So we can heal our world, and make your children whole.
One of the driving concerns behind my entire life project is integral holism: To help us become healthy and whole in body, spirit, and soul. I believe the integration of bodily health and activity is foundational for our spiritual vitality and psychological wholeness. As a Christian pastor, my primary means of accessing wholeness and purpose and integration in life is through the God of Love revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. Followers of Jesus are not usually known for their dedication to physical training and integration. But I think this is a mistake. After all, Jesus usually met people's bodily needs by feeding and healing them, before he taught them spiritual and ethical truths. And the "abundant life" promised by Jesus has physical as well as spiritual dimensions, such as making "our daily bread" a central concern in Jesus' model prayer.
Just as Jesus combined both physical and spiritual dimensions in his ministry, I usually combine my spiritual training with physical training, staying mindful of my diet and rest, exercise and mobility. This practice uses many of the spiritual-physical insights we find in Christian asceticism, as well as Hatha Yoga, and modern ideas of physical mobility, to create a method of living which not only connects us with Christ, but also makes us the strongest version of ourselves, which is holistically holy and wholly whole.
1.1. Physical Training and Christian Spirituality.
From the perspective of Christian Spirituality, physical training is important because Christ trains us to strive for our strongest self in body, spirit, and soul. In Scripture, the integration of spiritual and physical training is found in places like 1Thessalonians 5.23-24; 1Corinthians 6.19-20; 9.24-27; Ephesians 5.29–30; Philippians 3.12-14; Hebrews 12.1-2; 1Timothy 4.7-8; Proverbs 31.17; and Sirach 30.15. Physical training is intrinsically spiritual and affects who we are and what we can do. Our world of technology and consumerism is one of separation, alienation, and disconnection from our bodies, our selves, other people, and even from God. But this is not natural. And one of the ways to restore our fundamental organic unity is to pursue physical training as part of our spiritual training. And while Scripture is not a manual for physical training, it does hold values and ideals which tie directly into the need for physical training:
1Thessalonians 5.23–24
May the God of peace himself make you wholly holy, so that your spirit and soul and body are completely integrated, to keep you without flaw at the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. (my translation from the Greek)
Here we find that God’s will for our lives can be summed up in this: God wants us healthy and whole in body, spirit, and soul. The Apostle begins by saying that God is the God “of peace”. Peace here refers to the Hebrew concept of Shalom, which is not just an absence of strife between people, but refers to the health and wholeness of individuals and communities. This God of peace is constantly at work within us (cf. Philippians 1.6; 2.12-13; 1Corinthians 15.10; 2Corinthians 9.8; 12.9), and “is faithful”, so that “he will do this” work of peace and wholeness in us as we cooperate with him as “co-workers with God” (1Corinthians 3.9). This is because God glories in the full health and flourishing of his children. As St. Irenaeus says it: “The Glory of God is humanity fully alive”. God doesn’t want us to have a little life or a sick life or an unfulfilled life. God wants us to become the best version of ourselves. Thus we must strive, with God’s empowering help, to become the strongest, most integrated version of ourselves:
Philippians 3.12–14
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
With this image of the athlete “pressing on”, the Apostle calls us to strive for every area of human excellence: Spiritual, ethical, intellectual, emotional, social, and physical. This is because our body is a Temple of God’s Spirit who lives in us, constantly urging us to live our fullest and best life. God wants our Temple to be strong to support and enable the work of love, as we use our gifts and talents to bring health and healing and wholeness to others:
1Corinthians 6.19–20
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.
This “body” that is a Temple has a double meaning in the Apostle’s writings. First and foremost, it is our physical body through which God acts to do good in the world. Second of all, it is the social body— the Body of Christ— in which all followers of God’s Love join together to be Christ’s hands and feet reaching out to others (cf. 1Corinthians 12). As a collective, we are “a Body of bodies”, and the health and flourishing of our individual bodies makes us into a stronger and more vital collective Body. These two claims come together when talking about how we treat our bodies and how we treat one another: Ephesians 5.29–30 For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body.
The central claim of Christianity is that in Christ, God became fully human, which includes uniting a human body to Godself. Because God has a body, our body matters. Because God made matter and declared it good (cf. Genesis 1), that means that matter matters, and thus our physical body matters to God. Our body is an instrument through which God shares in our experience, and which God uses as an instrument to share God's Love with others. Thus, we need to make our bodies healthy and strong. And we ought to encourage each other to work together to become the strongest version of ourselves:
1Corinthians 9.24–27
Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I discipline my body and master it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.
This encouragement culminates in a cosmic vision of all heaven and earth cheering us on in the great race of life, to live boldly and bravely into the mission that God has for our lives:
Hebrews 12.1–2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
This is a huge, joyful cosmic vision of the life we lead, and the importance of our effort and wellbeing to Christ, who is the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith”. And yet, this vision can be overwhelming if we do not turn it into incremental, manageable steps. In the race of life, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. And thus, we start and continue our race one step at a time, one workout at a time, one day at a time, one moment at a time. We begin wherever we are, and make small steps to become healthier and stronger. And these steps include both spiritual and physical practices which help us in the race:
1Timothy 4.7–8
Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
Not all of us have the same ability or the same starting place to begin the race of life. But all of us can begin doing something, however small, to make ourselves better and stronger. Saint Martin Luther King gave some great advice for the moral and spiritual effort of striving for justice, that is great advice for any of us striving for anything worthwhile: "If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” Indeed, we must keep moving forward! Because:
Sirach 30.15
Health and fitness are better than any gold, and a robust body than countless riches.
Spiritual depth and ethical goodness are the very meaning of life. But if we are unhealthy and lack the vitality to share our spiritual and ethical riches, we will not be able to work together with God’s Spirit as effectively as we could. So many times I have seen people who are deeply compassionate and deeply committed to God, but who are sorely hindered by their obesity, or poor diet, or lack of physical strength and fitness. To put it bluntly: Someone who obviously mistreats their own body cannot effectively draw people into the Body of Christ. This is not to say every follower of God must be physically athletic. Many of us don’t have those gifts. But it is to say that being a follower of God means taking the best care of yourself that you can, within the circumstances and physical capacity we were born with. Thus, we find even ancient wisdom literature counseling both men AND women to engage in physical training:
Proverbs 31.17
She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong.
These insights about the value of physical training are intrinsic to Jewish and Christian spirituality, but they are not unique to Judaism and Christianity. We can find the value of physical training as part of spiritual development in all of the great Spiritual traditions. Hinduism in particular has an ancient and robust literature on “yoga”, which shows us how physical training is necessary for spiritual growth. With this in mind, we find that the spiritual and ethical value of physical training is a global phenomenon.
1.2. Global Spirituality and Physical Training.
Since I have approached the spiritual side of training from a Christian perspective, I would also like to demonstrate this is by no means only a Christian insight. We find the deep spirituality and character building of physical training in ancient Greek philosophers, Hindu mystics, Buddhist sages, as well as Muslims and Sikhs and Modern Secular people. Across all of the major Global Spiritual paths, we find an emphasis on "integral holism": That a healthy, holy, and whole person is one who is integrated in physical, mental, social, and spiritual health.
Here are a few insights about the power of physical training to shape the inner self from across history and culture:
Physical training in Judaism: The Jewish tradition stretches back to around 1000-1500 BCE, in the many collections of laws, poems, stories, and prophecies written by Hebrew sages such as Moses and Jeremiah and Isaiah. Although we have already dealt with some Jewish Scriptures above, it is worth noting that concern for the body is found across Jewish Scripture and Tradition and Spirituality. From Kosher food laws in the Torah, to prayers for health and healing in the Psalms, to the value of work and labor in Jewish Spirituality: We find insights about physical strength and training such as this:
Jacob, the chosen son of God's Promise, wrestles with a mysterious Divine Visitor: Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” (Genesis 32.24–30)
By you, O LORD, I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. (Psalm 18.29)
Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle. (Psalm 144.1)
A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might. (Proverbs 24.5)
God gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40.29-31)
Who is strong? He who controls his passions. (Judaism. Mishnah, Abot 4.1)
A person “should engage one’s body and exert oneself in a sweat-producing task each morning.” (The Rabbi and Philosopher Maimonides)
Physical training in Hinduism: Hinduism is a collection of Indian Spiritual paths that stretch back to around 1500 BCE, which are rooted in the Spiritual insights found in literature such as the Vedas and the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. Across this vast literature, we can find many insights into physical health, diet, and training which contribute to full human flourishing. This is found in the practices of various kinds of yoga, especially hatha yoga, and the many asanas (or bodily exercises and positions) that are used in it. In the Hindu tradition, we often find insight such as:
Know that the Self is the rider, and the body the chariot; that the intellect is the charioteer, and the mind the reins... The senses, say the wise, are the horses; the roads they travel are the mazes of desire... When a man lacks discrimination and his mind is uncontrolled, his senses are unmanageable, like the restive horses of a charioteer. But when a man has discrimination and his mind is controlled, his senses, like the well-broken horses of a charioteer, lightly obey the rein. (Katha Upanishad 1.3.3-6)
He who shirks action does not attain freedom; no one can gain perfection by abstaining from work. Indeed, there is no one who rests even for an instant; every creature is driven to action by his own nature. Those who abstain from action while allowing the mind to dwell on sensual pleasure cannot be called sincere spiritual seekers. But they excel who control their senses through the mind, using them for selfless service. Fulfill all your duties; action is better than inaction. Even to maintain your body... you are obliged to act. But it is selfish action that imprisons the world. Act selflessly, without any thought of personal profit. (Bhagavad Gita 3.4-9)
This is a great fact: strength is life; weakness is death. Strength is felicity, life eternal, immortal; weakness is constant strain and misery, weakness is death. (Teachings of the Hindu Swami Vivekananda, Section XLI)
Work is worship. (Virashaiva Proverb)
Physical training in Buddhism: Buddhism is rooted and grows from the teachings of the Indian sage Siddhartha Gautama, who was called "The Buddha" (the enlightened one). He lived sometime in the era around 300-500 BCE, and his teachings are carried on and elaborated by a series of Bodhisattvas (enlightened beings dedicated to bringing light to the world) stretching from the time of the Buddha until now. The Buddha is not actually the jolly fat man you see in stores and on posters (that is actually a Bodhisattva named Budai or Matreya). Rather, the Buddha was a person who won enlightenment by meditation combined with strict physical training and diet, and these values of physical fitness have been found in Buddhism since then. From the martial arts monks of the Shaolin temple, to the legendary bodily feats of Tibetan monks, Buddhism offers training insights such as:
Irrigators lead the waters. Fletchers bend the shafts. Carpenters bend wood. The virtuous control themselves. (Buddha. Dhammapada 80 and 145)
Though one should conquer a million men on the battlefield, yet he, indeed, is the noblest victor who has conquered himself. (Buddha. Dhammapada 103)
Be on guard against physical agitation; be controlled in body. Forsaking bodily misconduct, follow right conduct in the body. (Buddha. Dhammapada 231)
Physical training in Chinese Religions: As we move from India to China, around the same time as the Buddha, Chinese spirituality and ethics are being consolidated by sages such as Lao Tzu and Confucius. From thinkers like this comes a vast amount of thinking on the relationship between the spiritual self and the physical self, between inner enlightenment and outer methods of training. The whole Chinese tradition stresses the idea of "Yin Yang": That opposites are necessary for proper balance. We need structure and spontaneity, work and rest, feasting and fasting, discipline and creativity, to become our best selves. Paradoxically in terms of diet and training, this both means that we need to diligently structure our lives to attain our best selves, while also making space and place to follow the "effortless action" of doing what comes natural to us in activities we enjoy, and which give us life. From Chinese Religions we find insights such as these:
The way to use life is to do nothing through acting. The way to use life is to do everything through being. (Tao Te Ching 37)
He who knows others is wise; He who knows himself is enlightened. He who conquers others has physical strength; He who conquers himself is strong. (Tao Te Ching 33)
There are three things which the virtuous person guards against. In youth, when physical energy is still blooming, she guards against lust. When she grows up, her physical energy is full of vigor, she guards against quarrelsomeness. When she is old, her physical energy is decayed, she guards against covetousness (Confucius, Analects chapter 16)
Our bodies are influenced by the philosophy of the three bodies: The physical body, the energetic body, and the spiritual body. No one is exempt. (Paraphrase of Taoist Wisdom)
Physical training in Islam: The way of submission to the will of God (which is what Islam means) is the youngest of the major spiritual paths to claim a large portion of the world's population as Muslims (people who submit to Islam). In the mid-600's CE, the Muslim founding prophet Muhammad created a monotheistic reform movement among the people of Arabia. Central to the spiritual movement was the physical movement and vitality of their prophet, who was known to be a vigorous and active man, who used his bodily strength to lead and serve the people of God. Muhammad’s discipline in diet, and strength for service, carries on to today. Muslim commitment to fitness and sport and strength training can be seen in the current world champion bodybuilder (Mr. Olympia), one of the top bench pressers of all time, and one of the most dominant Olympic weightlifting teams. From the Muslim tradition we find insights such as these:
Eat and drink and do not commit excesses; indeed God does not love those who are excessive. (Quran 7:31)
Don’t indulge in over-eating because it would quench the light of faith within your hearts. (Muhammad. According to traditional Hadith)
A believer who is strong (and healthy) is better and dearer to Allah than the weak believer, but there is goodness in both of them… (Muhammad. According to traditional Hadith)
Your body has a right over you. (Muhammad. According to traditional Hadith. Another way to say this is: Your body is a gift from God, and you owe certain duties and obligations to care for it.)
The Prophet declared: "We have returned from the lesser holy struggle (al jihad al-asghar) to the greater holy striggle (al jihad al-akbar)." They asked, "O Prophet of God, which is the greater struggle?" He replied, "The struggle against the lower self." (Muhammad. According to traditional Hadith)
Physical training in Western Secular Sources and Philosophy: So called "Western Civilization" and "Western Philosophy" have deep roots that begin in Classical Greece, travel to Ancient Rome, and then spread out across Europe in the middle ages, sprout in the Enlightenment, and then bloom around the world in the modern age. At the very root of this are Greek thinkers such as Socrates and Plato and Aristotle, and a host of other characters everyone should learn about. It is worth noting that "Plato" was actually a nickname, meaning "broad shoulders", which came from his youth as a muscular Greek wrestler. Across the history of the western secular tradition, there has been a strong emphasis on the "Greek Ideal" of a strong mind in a strong body. We find this ideal embodied in many of our leading thinkers, and in many of the ideas they taught. There are many books like "Philosophical Reflections on Physical Strength" showing how a strong mind needs a strong body. In the fascinating history of "Physical Culture" in the western world, we find insights such as this:
Socrates speaks to a weak man: Or is it that you think bad condition healthier and generally more serviceable than good, or do you despise the effects of good condition? And yet the results of physical fitness are the direct opposite of those that follow from unfitness. The fit are healthy and strong; and many, as a consequence, save themselves decorously on the battle-field and escape all the dangers of war; many help friends and do good to their country and for this cause earn gratitude; get great glory and gain very high honors, and for this cause live henceforth a pleasanter and better life, and leave to their children better means of winning a livelihood... For in everything that men do the body is useful; and in all uses of the body it is of great importance to be in as high a state of physical efficiency as possible. Why, even in the process of thinking, in which the use of the body seems to be reduced to a minimum, it is matter of common knowledge that grave mistakes may often be traced to bad health. And because the body is in a bad condition, loss of memory, depression, discontent, insanity often assail the mind so violently as to drive whatever knowledge it contains clean out of it. But a sound and healthy body is a strong protection to a man, and at least there is no danger then of such a calamity happening to him through physical weakness. (Socrates, quoted in Xenophon, Memorabilia 3.12)
The bodily habit is spoiled by rest and idleness, but preserved for a long time by motion and exercise... [So also] the soul is informed, improved, and preserved by study and attention. (Plato. The Theaetetus)
Not less than two hours a day should be devoted to exercise, and the weather should be little regarded. A person not sick will not be injured by getting wet. It is but taking a cold bath, which never gives a cold to any one. Brute animals are the most healthy, and they are exposed to all weather, and of men, those are healthiest who are the most exposed. The recipe of those two descriptions of beings is simple diet, exercise and the open air, be its state what it will; and we may venture to say that this recipe will give health and vigor to every other description. (Thomas Jefferson)
The knowledge of one's strength entails a real mastery over oneself; it breeds energy and courage, helps one over the most difficult tasks of life, and procures contentment and true enjoyment of living. (Georg Hackenschmidt, early international strongman and fitness philosopher, from "The Way to Live")
We do not ‘have’ a body in the way we carry a knife in a sheath. Neither is the body a body that merely accompanies us and which we can establish, expressly or not, as also present-at-hand. We do not ‘have’ a body, rather, we ‘are’ bodily. (Martin Heidegger. Being and Time.)
In short, you must HUNGER to realize your full human stature of developing your mind and body to become a completely integrated being. (Mike Mentzer, American bodybuilder and fitness philosopher, from "HUNGER: Height, Uplift, Nobility, Grandeur, Exaltation, Reverence")
Winners do what they fear... As you learn to respect your body, you learn to respect your fellow man, too. The discipline required for training will carry over to many other aspects of your life. (Franco Columbu, Italian bodybuilder, from "The Complete Book of Bodybuilding")
For me life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer. (Arnold Schwarzenegger. World champion bodybuilder, movie star, and governor of California)
Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength. When you make an impasse passable, that is strength. (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
In sports, you learn competition means go after it, win it. And not to let anything else interfere. It's something you learn, and it sticks with you. I consider myself an expert in looking into a particular idea or goal and then going after it without anything else in mind... It's always the same kind of thing. You pick a goal, and then you just go after it, accomplish it, and get satisfaction out of that. (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
Going through the pain barrier, that's what makes the muscles grow. There's this pain, this aching, and going on and on and on. That's what divides a champion from a non-champion - having the guts to go through the pain barrier. (Arnold Schwarzenegger)
This list of ideas and quotes from world cultures is really only touching the surface of all the ways that humans have sought to integrate their inner and outer selves through spiritual and physical training. Across the centuries, and across cultures, we hear a great crowd of people cheering us on to train hard, train smart, and train regularly, so we can become our best self.
1.3. Physical Training, Spiritual Vision, and Ethical Formation.
We are created from Divine Love, for Divine Love, to share Divine Love with everyone God puts in our lives. With this in mind: Strength is for Love. Our strongest self is able to love the best. Because Love requires effort and commitment and consistency and self mastery and self-sacrifice. And all of these qualities are trained and formed in the process of challenging ourselves physically. In particular, our spiritual vision and ethical formation are greatly enhanced by physical discipline in ways that are not immediately obvious.
When we speak of “spirituality” here, we do not refer to whether someone does or does not “have” God’s Spirit. World Scriptures declare that all people have God’s Spirit and live in God’s Spirit, whether we realize it or not (cf. Psalm 139.7-12; Wisdom 12.1). We are all spiritual, but not all of us are in touch with our spiritual selves. To be in touch with our spiritual selves is to have a Big Vision for our lives that gives us meaning and purpose. Spirituality is about cultivating a mission and vision for our lives which is bigger than just selfish gratification, which shows us how we can help the world with our gifts and talents.
This spiritual vision gives us a “life map” of how to get from where we are, to who we can become. And once we have this vision, we need a moral compass to direct us on the map. We need to know where to go forward, to turn left or right, and when to turn around and begin again. This is the process of ethical formation, as we learn how to make choices that lead us to become our best selves. Spirituality and ethics are essential to all human life, regardless of whether we consciously follow the Path of Christ, or what we believe about God, or whether we are religious or not.
The very practice of physical training thus spurs on spiritual and ethical growth. Physical training teaches us skills to push ourselves, to push through difficulty, and to overcome adversity. All of these are essential if we are to live into our potential and grasp a spiritual vision for the meaning of our lives. Physical training also teaches us a great deal about what makes us healthy and unhealthy, what makes us stronger or weaker, and what is too much and what is not enough. All of these are essential in learning how to make ethical choices to become our best selves and our strongest selves.
The discipline, habits, and virtues created by physical care and training shape our character, and our character shapes our destiny. Just as our stewardship of time and resources and money and possessions and relationships matters to who we are and what we become, so also our stewardship of our body matters. If we have used our physical body to train our inner self to be lazy and addicted and unaware and unconcerned and impulsive and selfish, then that inner self will use all of our resources and gifts and talents in the same way. Because "whoever is faithful in little is also faithful in much; and whoever is dishonest in a little is also dishonest in much" (Luke 16.10).
This is not to say we have to be professional athletes to attain spiritual excellence. Our virtue is determined by our effort and exertion, not natural ability or athletic success. A person who attains basic functionality in a handicapped body may learn more virtue than a skilled athlete born with great genetics. A mother of three who also works full time and who is never able to “exercise” may attain more self discipline than an entitled professional athlete with a team of people encouraging and pampering them. However, within the constraints of our time and resources and natural abilities, we should seek to become the strongest version of ourselves: Physically and spiritually, intellectually and emotionally, individually and socially.
And now, may the Lord of Life guide you to create a training program which helps you do "activity with intensity directed toward a purpose", so that you may become "your strongest self, your wisest self, your best self". And then, may God give you the strength and time and discipline to accomplish it. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment