PUMPING IRON

Carol and I have been going to the gym in our complex four or five mornings a week, as our schedule allows. After ten years of my not getting any regular exercise, it’s been a chore getting back into the habit and an even bigger chore getting back into any semblance of being in shape. Fortunately I married the right woman and when she needs to be a drill sergeant, she does it well! And let me quickly add, I love my sergeant!

I enjoy watching people, and it’s fun to watch the different kinds of people who visit the gym. There are serious athletes (like me) who are determined to be fit. Then there are some semi-serious ones (again, like me) who want to be fit but don’t want to pay the full price. These are the good folks who buy the magic potions sold on late-night cable stations that promise to make you lose weight while you sleep. Like me, these folks want fitness—as long as it’s on sale and cheap!

Some of the people that come into the gym constantly amaze me. They are not there very long; in fact, they come only to do a few select exercises, usually arm curls and maybe a few stomach crunches. One morning a few weeks ago a middle-aged guy came in and it was the first and only time I’ve ever seen him. This gentleman was dressed in tight, black jeans, black loafers without socks, a black belt with silver trim on it, and a tight, white polo shirt. He went over the dumbbell rack and acted like he felt at home as he picked up two twenty-pound weights and did eight or ten curls. Then he placed the weights back in the rack, stood for a few minutes and admired himself—and then left.

Later, as Carol and I were heading back to our home, she remarked, “That was really weird. That guy just came in and stood over in front of the mirror. What was that all about?” Maybe it is just a “guy thing” but I did understand what the man was doing. “I suspect he was on his way to his office or a meeting and there was somebody there he wanted to impress, so he stopped to pump up his arms. It’s all about looking good.”

About that time I had an epiphany or maybe it was a revelation, or maybe just some common sense bubbled up about exercise and life. The startling conclusion that I arrived at was, “More people die of heart (cardiovascular) problems than from flabby arms or butts.” Wow, did that rock my world! Now let me quickly add that I see nothing wrong with a finely-toned arm or…oops, I’d better not finish that thought, my drill sergeant might read this!

One of the strongest words of rebuke and correction Jesus ever gave to the religious phonies of His day is found in Matthew 23:25-28. My paraphrase of these verses would read something like this:

“You guys don’t get it! All you are worried about is appearance, looking good! So you rush to the gym and concentrate on your arms, stomach and butt. You Botox your face, puff up your lips, spray on a fake tan and then blow your budget on clothes that are in style today! You look like you live on the Jersey Shore. And while you are concentrating on how you look, your heart is growing sick and diseased. The core of your life is not how you look, it’s your heart, your inner person. I came to take the sin-diseased heart out of you, give you a healthy heart, and then help you keep it healthy. In your blindness, you keep pumping iron and spraying on the tan and ignoring your heart. When the heart disease finally takes you down, and it will, your buffed bod and stylish clothes won’t help at all. Your rock-hard abs will not get you very far in eternity!”

In my physical exercise routine I consciously work the cardiovascular to keep my heart in good shape. I also spend some time with the weight machines to work the arms and the upper body. Likewise, my devotional life is structured to continually and consciously work on the inner man. You wanna keep the heart strong!

Proverbs 4:23
“Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.” (NIV)

Well, I must go. I hear the drill sergeant calling…I love that sound and I love my sergeant!