When I was in grade school, an award (along with a patch) was given to the top 15% of students as part of the President Physical Fitness Award Program (PPFAP) created by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Each student was put through a battery of seven physical tests: 1) Pull-ups (for boys), modified pull-ups (for girls), 2) sit-ups, 3) shuttle run, 4) standing broad jump, 5) 50-yard dash, 6) softball throw for distance, and 7) a 600-yard run/walk. According to President Johnson’s predecessor, President Kennedy, Americans were becoming “soft”.
Before he took office, Kennedy advocated for youth physical fitness in his article “The Soft American,” published in Sports Illustrated. In the widely popular article, the president fed into Cold War paranoia about American subservience, articulating concerns about children spending too much time watching television and not enough time building strong bodies. “The harsh fact of the matter is that there is also an increasingly large number of young Americans who are neglecting their bodies – whose physical fitness is not what it should be – who are getting soft. And such softness on the part of the individual citizen can help to strip and destroy the vitality of a nation.” Linking the supposed state of American youth to the security and futurity of the nation, Kennedy set the stage for the aims of his presidency’s Fitness Test.
-Wikipedia
Over the years, the PPFAP, which focused on individual achievement and celebration of top performers, was modified, and ultimately replaced by the Presidential Youth Fitness Program (PYFP), which broadened the scope of measuring fitness to include facets of lifestyle and nutrition. This shift in America’s definition of fitness continues away from merely athletic performance to health-related fitness.
There are very strong statistical correlations between physical fitness and other forms of fitness, as well. For example, mental and emotional fitness are influenced by physical fitness, and vice versa. I wrote a blog on July 1, 2022 titled, The Importance of Health, that even spoke to the connection between spiritual and physical fitness. You see, fitness is a way of life. Better yet, fitness needs to be a way of life, especially for God’s children.
Let me give you an example of what I’m getting at here. If you’re a soldier on the battlefield and you are out of shape, how will you fare regarding your own welfare, your foxhole partner’s welfare, and the welfare of your country compared to if you were in shape? What is the spiritual analog?
“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure.
God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
-Hebrews 12:6-13
The primary reason for military bootcamp is to manufacture fit soldiers who will ultimately be deployed in defense of the country. During their training, recruits are pushed, prodded, and disciplined. Why? Because that is what’s necessary. Has the military evolved over the years akin to the PPFAP? Indeed. In any case, America has consistently produced the top fighting force in the world. Fitness, as a result of discipline (in both senses of the word), has been the foundation of its success (For the record, this isn’t some odd recruitment pitch from a veteran, I promise – I’m just trying to make a point and the military lends itself well to this endeavor).
Fitness as a result of discipline is a way of life. There, I said it again. To be a “soldier of Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3) is to be fit for service. Since the spiritual war we are engaged in is waged all day, every day, we mustn’t make the mistake of thinking we can afford to let our guards down. In most cases, we are attacked (as opposed to going on the offensive). Our enemies don’t wait until we are “ready” for battle. In fact, they look for when we are weak to launch an offensive. We must be prepared for battle, always, not just when it is convenient for us (e.g., when life isn’t distracting us).
This type of thinking – fitness as a way of life – is something Jesus spoke to, directly.
And [Jesus] said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?”
-Luke 9:23-25
Which life are you defending (the old or the new)? Which life are you fighting for? Which life do you train for (e.g., when you sit down to read your Bible or attend a church service)?
Training in the Word of God requires consistent training that cannot be sustained in the absence of full commitment to the cause. Like a haphazard soldier who finds themselves face to face with his enemy, it’s too late once they descend upon your position. You will fail your mission and be crushed. That outcome results in extreme stress, ongoing anxiety, and depression. Suffering defeat means being pressed low and forced to realize you have a way to go! It means your lack of faith has resulted in failure to achieve the desired outcome (friendly reminder: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” – Romans 10:17). It isn’t until your faith succeeds that you begin gaining confidence and courage, even (1 Peter 1:7). As the old saying goes, “Success is 90% preparation and 10% perspiration.”
Training and discipline are what result in the fruit of righteousness; and it is righteousness that wins wars.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
-Ephesians 6:10-20
If righteousness wins wars, then you must read your Bible and learn what righteousness is! That is the first and foremost step. If the Bible says to take care of your body, then discipline yourself to do so. If the Bible instructs you to purify your mind, then discipline yourself to do so. If the Bible says to guard your emotional wellbeing, then discipline yourself to do so. If the Bible says to train yourself and your children (if you have any) in the Word of God, then discipline yourself to do so.
My friend, fitness is a way of life, a mindset; it’s neither a diet program nor a membership to a gym or church. We must discipline ourselves lest we be disciplined by God. But I don’t want to leave you with the fear of being judged (even though it is warranted). Consider this life-changing attitude ‘fitness is a mindset’ as a blessing, not a chore. Having the ability to achieve said fitness is a gift from God! After all, God has given His children time on Earth to fight for His good cause, to bring glory to Him! Understanding that fitness is a privilege gives us purpose, something this world can never do.
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins