I’ve been thinking about my physique lately. Well, I guess I should say that I haven’t been thinking of it enough. What drew my attention to it is this padded layer forming around my midsection. A few too many Five Guys burgers and a far too few running miles have caused my 6-pack abs to melt together (okay, I never really had 6-pack abs, but it was a good image). Jen brought home a new scale last week and I decided to test it out. When I saw the numbers displayed on the screen, I told Jen to take it back! I’m happy to say, however, that I’m on the right track! I did a 5 miler this morning and I’m searching for some low-fat alternatives to chips and soda (thank God for Coke Zero).
Being in good health is part of honoring God with our bodies, but did you know that our bodies can help us develop our spiritual health? A book I’m reading started me thinking of my body in a different way. Dallas Willard just released, The Great Omission. It is a look at reclaiming Jesus’ plan of spiritual formation, a person enveloped in the trinity and knowing and obeying everything he commanded (Matt 28:19). In chapter 8, he puts forth the idea of the body being a tool for spiritual formation. He says that if our physical flesh is beyond redemption (as many Christians believe and practice) than our ordinary life is too. Thankfully Paul’s words show us this is not the case. He presents the body as “a temple inhabited by the Holy Spirit. It is not meant to be used for sinning, but is meant for the Lord,” (1 Cor 6:13) and our “bodies are members of Christ.” (1 Cor 6:15). The way our bodies become members of Christ is through training. Willard says it requires mortification of the flesh. Not a particularly popular message series. I’m trying to think of what the “Mortification” series invite card would look like. Here's Willard on the matter:
“Indeed, mortifying or putting things to death doesn’t seem to be the kind of
thing today’s Christians would be caught doing. Yet there it stands, at the
center of New Testament teachings.” This process of “crucifying the flesh with
its passions and desires,” (Gal 5:24) requires effort on our part. “Our part in this transformation, in addition to constant faith and hope in Christ, is purposeful, strategic use of our bodies in ways that will retrain them, replacing the ‘motions of sing in our members’ with the motions of Christ.”
This is done through the spiritual disciplines.
A discipline as described by Willard, “is an activity in our power, which we pursue in order to become able to do what we cannot do by direct effort.” When I wanted to run my first marathon, I knew I could tackle 26.2 miles by will power alone so I started to train. My first long run was 5 miles, but after 4 months and countless workouts I was able to train my body to run the entire distance. The same is true with the spiritual disciplines. Willard outlines the steps:
First, we begin by acknowledging the good of what we are going to do and
asking God's assistance. Second we begin to practice controlling our tongue (or
any other offending part). Not by trying not to insult people when they shake us
up. No, we begin further back from the target situation. Possibly we step out of
the realm of words by not speaking for a twenty-four-hour period--even by
dwelling in silence with the TV and radio off. This probably will require that
we go into solitude for the period of time.
Note that all of this is something we do with our bodies. We relocate and
reorient our bodies in our world. We learn a new relation to our
body--specifically, our ears and tongues. This pervasively impacts our minds,
hearts, and souls, as it gives opportunity to explore our world in silence and
find our proper place in it. This in turn allows us to gain insight in to why
we use the accustomed foul and insulting language.
When we find this insight (the belief that our words give us a sense of power over the offender)through the disciplines we realize how pathetic our response is and discover direct alternatives to it. It is at this time we can incorporate kingdom living into our daily lives. Willard goes on the say:
The interaction between new uses of the body and inward re-positioning toward
the context is essential. Learning to do what he taught is not just a
mental shift without assistance from a modified use of the body, for behavior
and life are not mental.
Using our bodies in this way develops them into a "power pack" to appropriate our freedom from the habitual sin that so often trips us up. As we continue to teach our body how to act out righteousness it will, after much planing, practice and a healthy dose of grace, become an unconscious process.
So, I'll end this extremely lengthy post with a question. How's your body? Could you stand to lose a few pounds? Here's a great place to find a bargain on running shoes. Do you need to develop your spiritual power pack? Click on this link for some exercises in the spiritual disciplines and watch the flesh that you struggle against turn into your friend.
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