What do you think of when you hear the word fitness? Apart from athletics, personal fitness is something in which a lot of people invest time. In our culture, the phrases “getting ripped” or “losing weight” are commonly associated with fitness and are often personal ambitions.

Underlying motivation for exercise is vanity

This is because our culture teaches us that beauty is measured by our physical appearance. As a result, our culture is obsessed with looking good. But wanting to change the way we look in order to feel better about ourselves or to impress others is ultimately idolization of ourselves.

Although many people have good motivations for exercising such as maintaining health and increasing blood flow to the brain, our underlying motivations are often vain. If we are honest, most of us have probably examined our bodies in the mirror, wishing we were more “fit” in some way.

Exercise to glorify God

But how can exercising with the intention of pleasing others or ourselves with our physique be glorifying to God? If we are to glorify God with our bodies through exercise, we need to change our underlying motivations for fitness.

As Christians, Colossians 3:23 calls us to “work heartily as for the Lord and not for men [including ourselves]” in everything we do. And though 1 Corinthians 6:19 says that our bodies are “temple(s) of the Holy Spirit,” and many use this as a reason for fitness, the verse goes on to say that we have received our bodies from God, and they are not our own to do with whatever we’d like. Therefore, we need to seek fitness as a means to glorify God.

Being fit to serve others

So what if we sought fitness in order to be good stewards of the bodies God has given us so we might use them for the service of others and advancing the kingdom? How would that change our hearts? By taking our focus off of ourselves, the temptation to evaluate our appearance each time we look in the mirror would lessen.

Instead of sculpting our bodies for no eternal benefit, we could train our bodies to be equipped for any physical task in hopes of making an impact on people’s lives.

Exercise healthy for body and mind

Mark Hooper, the manager of the fitness center, is a proponent of holistic fitness. He believes that exercise should not only affect our bodies, but our minds as well. Hooper focuses on workouts that are task based.

“My goal is to get you to a place where you can get through that [workout] and say, ‘It won’t be fun, but I know I can complete it,’” Hooper said.

Hooper said this is a mindset that will allow one to see a mountain, but have the confidence to climb it despite the physical challenge involved, thus building mental toughness.

When we build this confidence in our physical abilities, we can then administer them in order to help people who might not be as physically equipped to address a specific need.

Again, the idea is our motivation for fitness. Are we exercising for personal glory, or God’s glory? And as someone who exercises frequently, having a pure mindset is not easy. I often struggle with a desire to work out to change my appearance, so I need to constantly remind myself to use my body for God. And regardless of how we look, God sees us as beautiful simply because we are created in his image. Our identities must be rooted in Christ and not in our appearance. The challenge is to ask yourself each time you exercise, “Why am I doing this?”