Over the years, I’ve had an uneasy relationship with exercise and fitness. Uncoordinated and awkward in high school, I was a varsity-level creator of legitimate reasons to be excused from gym class. In college, to fulfill the mandatory two physical education credits, I took First Aid and Intro to Golf, both guaranteed to keep me from having to break a sweat.
Then, in my twenties, I discovered aerobics! I invested in sweatpants and a pair of puffy Reeboks (no legwarmers, though…), and showed up faithfully, three times a week, to prance and kick and mambo my way to aerobic fitness. After marriage, family, and a move to a rural address far from the nearest weight room, my daily walk became both exercise and rehab for chronic back pain. I’m still walking that same road, puffing my way up the same country hills, but now, to slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease, I also do a series of daily exercises that are both strengthening and neuroprotective, and spend half an hour on a recumbent bike.
My reason for exercising this morning had nothing to do with my jeans size or whether I can “pinch an inch,” and everything to do with independence, vitality, and continued productivity. I want to be able to lift baby grandchildren and chase toddlers, to pick fresh green beans from long garden rows, and to stand at a podium and teach the Bible.
As with all our actions, so it is with exercise. Motive is everything. And barely below the surface of motive, informing our motives and holding them up, we find theology. What I believe about God spreads a clear layer of purpose over everything I do—even something as bodily and seemingly unspiritual as daily exercise.
As with all our actions, so it is with exercise. Motive is everything. And barely below the surface of motive, informing our motives and holding them up, we find theology.
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A Little Theology of Exercise
Reading A Little Theology of Exercise by David Mathis has given me more time to consider the role my body plays in fulfilling God’s calling on my life. His focus is on stewarding the body in service of the soul, and his goal is two-fold: to motivate sedentary Christians to get moving and to divert Christians who exercise away from shallow motives and toward solid, biblical reasons for reasonable exercise.
Mathis has learned from experience that he is a happier and more effective human when he is getting regular exercise. This makes sense because God has designed us with a profound connection between our bodies and our souls.
For the believer, exercise is made holy as we place Christ at the center of it, receiving it as a gift, and asking for his help in making it an offering to him. Mathis argues that a solid theology of exercise is based on the awareness that we glorify God in our bodies, for exercise builds and conditions the brain as it strengthens the will. He urges sedentary Christians in search of a dopamine boost to test the theory that we gain more energy as we expend energy through regular exercise.
Exercise, then, becomes an act of service as we glorify God in our bodies. “In the service of love, we want to get (and keep) our bodies, depending on our season of life, in the condition needed to serve God’s callings on us to love others.” If I’m seriously devoted to doing good, I’ll keep exercising for the wellness of my body and the overflowing joy of my soul.
What Other Reviewers Are Saying
“I’ve spent a lifetime in athletics but never thought this deeply about the glory of God in training the body, mind, and soul. David’s vision (and Scripture’s!) of a vigorous life to the glory of God truly inspires, and I’ll walk into the gym differently this week.”
―Rick Barnes, Head Basketball Coach, University of Tennessee
“In A Little Theology of Exercise, David Mathis has written a unique and timely book to help Christians think spiritually about exercise in a sedentary age. Specifically, he answers the question ‘How can the joy of exercise serve joy in God?’ David skillfully avoids the pitfalls of either idolizing or ignoring the body by presenting a theology of the body from creation to fall to redemption to glorification. And so he presents a short theological manual packed with godly motivations for the use of the body to the glory of God. This book will challenge you, but it will also change the way you think about spiritual pleasure and physical exercise.”
―Gavin Peacock, former professional footballer; Locum Pastor, Bethersden Baptist Church, UK; author, A Greater Glory: From Pitch to Pulpit
In A Little Theology of Exercise, @davidcmathis argues that a solid theology of exercise is based on the awareness that we glorify God in our bodies, for exercise builds and conditions the brain as it strengthens the will. @crossway
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David Mathis has written encouragement for other habits of holiness in his book Habits of Grace. I reviewed it back in 2016 HERE.
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Many thanks to Crossway for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.
Living Our Days 
I love to exercise because it makes me feel stronger-physically and mentally. Somehow during my long runs my mind is more quiet. I actually use that time to talk to God. When you mention the connection between bodies and souls it makes so much sense!
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I’m pleased that the connection makes sense to you! Like it or not, we all tend toward gnosticism, trying to compartmentalize what’s happening in our bodies as if it doesn’t impact on our souls!
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We sounds very simpatico… I figured out how many classes of gym I could skip/not dress for and still pass the class (since it was only offered as pass/fail!) and made sure my health requirement fulfilled my college phys. ed. requirements since I hated breaking a sweat… I still kind of do but realize I really do need to keep moving in order to stay healthy.
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Definitely kindred spirits!
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I love this perspective on exercising! It’s so interesting, and a way of looking at exercising you don’t hear very often. I go for a run everyday both for my physical and my mental health. I can function better if I exercise. It keeps me on an even keel.
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I dislike exercising VERY much, taking no pleasure in crunches, planks, push-ups, etc. What I appreciate are the results: more energy, strength, fewer aches and pains, and more. I use a deck of cards called Fit Deck, with one exercise on each card. By the time I finish the deck, I’ve worked every muscle group of the body, several different ways. I never thought of making this time an offering to God. I’ll have to add a prayer to that effect at the start of my warm-up–a good attitude adjustment!
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That’s a great system you are using, and I admire your discipline and perseverance. I guess we both take our exercises like medicine—but we do it!
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Michele, I saw this book mentioned somewhere so I’m so glad you’ve reviewed it. I hated P.E. in school too. My exercise journey over the years has been just that … a journey. I always used to say I ran on the treadmill for the endorphins and so I could eat more. An arthritic knee forced me to exchange running outside for biking last year, and this year, biking outside has been replaced by recumbent stationary biking in the basement. (There’s a bit of irony in all that, I just haven’t figured out how to express it yet.) Anyway, I like the thought of exercise as an act of service that allows us to glorify God through our bodies.
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In some ways, reading and reviewing this book has been part of my intentional embrace of the need to move and push myself physically. I’m glad the review satisfied your curiosity a bit 😊
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Michele,
I am sorry to hear that you have Parkinson’s but as a former Rehab nurse, I think your attitude about it is fantastic!! And I too understand your reason for exercising is your grandchildren…I want to thank you for the inspiration you have given me as I too am trying to stay healthy so I get to spend time with my twin granddaughters. And since I am now my son’s only parent, I do not want them to become orphans any time soon…You know the saying…Use iI or Lose it!! You Go, Girl!! Thanks too for stopping by!!
Hugs,
Deb
Debbie-Dabble Blog
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Yes, and here’s another: Motion is Lotion!
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