1Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profits little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

I Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

Have you ever noticed how much time and energy people spend on the physical? Be it physical conditioning or physical beauty, America is obsessed with making themselves acceptable to a world gone mad with their personal looks. Whether it is big abs, large muscles or being pretty, we are a nation of wannabes. Competitiveness runs rampant in our society. We aim to run faster, do better, beat one another in races, business, or popularity. We build up these unnatural desires of presenting ourselves to our friends, be it business or pleasure, as being beautiful or successful. We have this constant drive to be accepted to those around us or those with whom we associate.

I was at a dinner for VIP’s in Las Vegas and noticed people taking selfies. Some were teenagers but I had to chuckle to myself at our vanity of getting just the right picture of ourselves that would make us look better than normal. If we could just catch the right pose, it would give us instant pleasure and possibly better popularity. We want to be satisfied with our looks. Most of us work hard at that goal.

Outside my personal residence, I see people, young and old jogging down the street. Some are female and some are male, but both are seeking to improve their health and their life. Nothing wrong with that. Some of the elderly can barely run but they jog along slowly with great effort and I admire their tenacity.

With all the attention on TV and elsewhere I am reminded of what Timothy said many years ago about how we look at life and how we are driven to succeed: “bodily exercise profits little.” In other words, it does profit us to exercise, but it is not of greatest in objectives for our lives. “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

My question is, Are we working on our relationship with God as much as we work on our relationship with others. That is the crux of the matter, isn’t it? If you were the only one on the planet you might not be as obsessed with your looks as you might be today. I’m just saying….!!!

Well, since we are not the only persons living on this planet, then we must consider whether we spend as much or more time on our physical attributes and relationships as we spend on our relationship with Jesus Christ. That is what we must ask about ourselves, correct? When it comes to eternity does it matter which relationship is most important? Of course!

If Jesus is not the center of our attentions, what or who is taking that place? That is important for us to ask about ourselves. We must place greater emphasis on Him. We must concern ourselves with Jesus and what He wants us to do. He must be first in every thought we have. Is what I am doing causing Him to increase? Or do I find that I don’t have time for an intimate relationship with Him because you are pursuing your own agenda.

Do you care? I know you do. You just need to set some priorities. The way you do that is by finding out what He says in His Word. Spend time in prayer. Ask Him questions. If you don’t understand, ask Him why or what. Tell Him you want a closer relationship and then let Him guide you, restore you, and bless you.

If you don’t know Christ as your Savior, you can begin that relationship today. The Scripture says that Jesus came to His own people and they rejected Him, but as many as received Him would become sons and daughters of God by virtue of His dying on the cross so you could receive forgiveness. You need but believe, trust, and commit your life to Him. It is called repentance which means making a u-turn in your life and following Jesus. Ask Him to save you today. Just through simply talking to Him in prayer which is respectfully, sincerely, and humbly talking to Him. It is the means of communicating with God that He established long ago. He will hear you and answer you.

If you need help spiritually on this or any other subject, please email me. I personally read every email and answer them.

May God bless,

Ken Lewis, Th.D.

Email: KenLewisThD@gmail.com