Bodily Exercise Profits Little

1 Timothy 4:8 KJVS

[8] For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

I am sure many of have read this scripture at some point in time in your walk. And for some, they even find it to be a form of inspiration to skip out on the gym. However, very few take the time to consider what message was being conveyed and why.

First we must understand who this letter is being written to. Yes, of course we know it is written to our forefathers and mothers. However, it is written to those who were living in the Roman captivity. And during the time of the Greeks and Romans what were some growing customs? Gymnasiums! The Olympic Games, gladiator sports. All of these forms of entertainment that demanded physical skill. Need it be running, jumping, climbing you name it.

1 Maccabees 1:14

Whereupon they built a place of exercise at Jerusalem according to the customs of the heathen:

You took a people who primarily trained for war and now influenced them to train for entertainment. This is no different than today. How many sports requiring physical skill or athleticism exist today? Many right! And look at how many of our people begin training themselves and/ or even their children at an early age just to have a fighting chance to finally “make it to the big leagues.”

2 Maccabees 4:9

Beside this, he promised to assign an hundred and fifty more, if he might have licence to set him up a place for exercise, and for the training up of youth in the fashions of the heathen, and to write them of Jerusalem by the name of Antiochians.

More than anything else, our people will ensure they not only play a physical sport but will push themselves or their children to push to be a professional athlete. Think about how hard they train to achieve these impressive feats or maintain their skills or performance. Even at an amateur level, it’s often a full time job. Often training not just up to six days a week depending on the sport but even up to two times a day, many days of the week. Pushing their bodies to the extreme to get the extra edge on the competition. Or reviewing film, or watching others perform to learn techniques from them if not to just avoid some of their errors. After all, many made their livelihoods off of these sports. Or dedicated their lives in order to make a living doing it.

1 Maccabees 1:11-15 [11] In those days went there out of Israel wicked men, who persuaded many, saying, Let us go and make a covenant with the heathen that are round about us: for since we departed from them we have had much sorrow. [12] So this device pleased them well. [13] Then certain of the people were so forward herein, that they went to the king, who gave them licence to do after the ordinances of the heathen: [14] Whereupon they built a place of exercise at Jerusalem according to the customs of the heathen: [15] And made themselves uncircumcised, and forsook the holy covenant, and joined themselves to the heathen, and were sold to do mischief.

We can underestimate the power of influence. And unfortunately it is easier to influence our people to do wickedly than to do righteously. And easier to corrupt than to reform. So it is no hard matter for our people to buy into the idea that if you want to be successful this is what you need to do. You need to become a gladiator, you need to become a boxer, you need to become a wrestler etc. Yet the reason is no longer driven for war, no, not even for self defense as much as it is driven for the success and financial gain of this world.

You become sold out to the lifestyle and begin to fall further away from the Most High and do more wickedness. You go “all in” as they say but in the wrong direction. We fool ourselves to believe that we can do it righteously. However, you cannot effectively execute righteously in a system that is built around executing wickedly. You need to be able to persuade MANY that this is the way we should go. Else you will just end up being sucked in and enticed.

2 Maccabees 4:14

That the priests had no courage to serve any more at the altar, but despising the temple, and neglecting the sacrifices, hastened to be partakers of the unlawful allowance in the place of exercise, after the game of Discus called them forth;

This is exactly what Satan desires working through anyone needed to convince our people that serving the creator will not make you successful. But rather follow the ways of the other nations and you will be good. You will lose courage to fight for your people and for the Most High yet have all the courage in the world to wrestle with another person half naked. You will start to neglect the feast days because oh, I have a game, oh, I have a competition, oh, I gotta train. Prioritizing the works of the flesh over the works of the spirit. You will move quickly on any training opportunity that you feel might promote your career growth. Yet, drag when it comes down to anything righteous that may promote spiritual growth. And then because of persecution you don’t want to get involved with anything that goes against the grain and messes with your career or future career path. All while forgetting that all of this is temporary.

That is the key. Bodily exercise profits little because no matter how physically strong you get you can’t bench press or squat the lake of fire. Our people were no strangers to physically training. We just understood the just reasons and purpose behind it.

1 Maccabees 2:66

As for Judas Maccabeus, he hath been mighty and strong, even from his youth up: let him be your captain, and fight the battle of the people.

How would Mattathias have counseled his sons and known Judas was mighty and strong to fight battles if they had not been taught directly by their father or indirectly by his father putting them in that environment? So even he as a Levite, as a father in righteousness trained his sons physically to be able to know who was most skilled. The knowledge of war and skill of fighting wasn’t just beamed into them. However, they knew why they trained and they did not stop keeping Gods laws nor bend their righteousness to be accepted of amongst the wicked.

1 Maccabees 3:21

But we fight for our lives and our laws.

They may fight for fame, glory, honor or riches, but it is all for a kingdom that will fade away whose workings are after Satan. But we fight, we train, and we exercise to defend our very lives and our right to keep these laws.

1 Timothy 4:8 KJVS

[8] For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Now let’s be clear. He did not say bodily exercise is unprofitable. It just profits little if you are not righteous. But you can use this as a standard for many things. And change out the first sentence in this verse with many other applications. For example: Cleanliness profits little. Why? Like Christ told the Pharisees, you make sure the outside is clean but not the inside. So what good is it? Clean the inside as well! So don’t neglect the care of your temple.

Godliness is profitable unto all things because in the end many of the things you seek need it be good health, a strong body, and financial success will come if you get righteous and stay righteous. You are promised not only many of the good things that you see and enjoy in this life but so much more that you have not seen that will only come in the next life.

You must remember that the only thing that will deliver you and keep you safe is righteousness. Your career is temporary, it only exist as long as this kingdom exist. But this kingdom will fall. Even your body is temporary, it will eventually become incapable of performing some of those very same feats you were so skilled at and some of those routines you may have done so often. Yet for all this what will become of your soul in the end?

Matthew 16:26 KJVS

[26] For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?