The Best Exercise For A Healthy Life

Fitness fads in the U.S. have come and gone over the years as millions of Americans continue their search for the “perfect” way to lose weight and get in shape.  See if you remember any of these fitness fads:

1.  Vibrating belt machine-- a motorized belt you wrapped around your waist, hips, or thighs, supposedly shaking the fat away.

2.  The Shake Weight—a hand-held dumbbell-like device that would oscillate back and forth as users “shook” it, supposedly offering an enhanced arm workout. 

3.  The Thigh Master—a piece of equipment designed to be squeezed between the thighs to achieve slimmer and toned legs.

4. Stomach Vacuum—a device that focused on tightening your core by drawing in the abdominal muscles and holding them in a contracted state.

If you can’t remember any of these devices, there’s a good reason: they didn’t work!  So we continue to look for new ways to get healthy.  My doctor recently told me I need to exercise more and cut back on eating red meat.  So I’ve been going to the gym three times a week and I tried to eat kale (which I’m convinced is of the devil because I don’t believe God would create something that tastes that bad!).   

I recently read a humorous story about a couple that was dieting: Tony and Yvonne were 85 years old and had been married for sixty years. They were both in very good health, largely due to Yvonne's insistence on healthy foods and exercise over the last decade.

One day, they went on vacation and their plane crashed, sending them off to Heaven. They reached the pearly gates, and St. Peter escorted them inside. He took them to a beautiful mansion, furnished in gold and fine silks, with a fully stocked kitchen and a waterfall in the master bath. They gasped in astonishment when Peter said, “Welcome to Heaven. This will be your home now.”

Tony looked out the window and right there he saw a championship golf course, finer and more beautiful than any ever built on Earth. “What are the greens fees?” grumbled Tony.

“This is heaven,” St. Peter replied. “You can play for free, every day.”

Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch, with every imaginable cuisine laid out before them, from seafood to steaks to exotic desserts. “Don't even ask,” said St. Peter to Tony. “This is Heaven; it is all free for you to enjoy.”

Tony looked around and glanced nervously at Yvonne. “Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods and the decaffeinated tea?” he asked.

“That's the best part,” St. Peter replied. “You can eat and drink as much as you like of whatever you like and you will never get fat or sick. This is Heaven!”

“No gym to work out at all?” said Tony. Not unless you want to, was the answer.

Tony glared at Yvonne and said, “If it wasn't for you and your bran flakes. We could have been here ten years ago!”

            When it comes to exercise, Apostle Paul gives us some good advice in 1 Timothy 4:7-8

 Paul wasn’t saying to never exercise.  On the contrary, he was encouraging us to live godly lives in addition to being healthy.  The fact is: our bodies are going to grow old, wrinkled and eventually wear out.  And when our life on earth is over, the only thing that will matter is how healthy are we spiritually? 

So exercise your body, but more importantly, exercise your soul in the ways of godly living: commit your life to Jesus, read the Bible, worship together with fellow believers.  And be sure to pray every day—especially when you’re eating kale!   

Rev. Doug Johnson, Senior Pastor, Lexington First Assembly of God in Lexington, KY.

www.LexingtonFirst.org