God Talks- Does God Care if You're Fit?

By Chelsea Rowell of Chelsea Gets Fit

Before you jump on me with all that, “Man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart” stuff, let me say that I already know. That’s not the point of this article.

The purpose of this article is to look into what the Bible really has to say about fitness, nutrition, and overall health and well being of the human body. So many people have told me, “God wants me to be happy, so I can eat what I want!” To which I reply, “gag me.” Another popular line I hear is, “Working out and getting in shape isn’t for the glory of God, it’s for the glory of YOU…” Again, puh-lease. Give me a break. These are just two examples of Christianized excuses and are more than likely taking God’s name in vain…or LAME. Contrary to popular belief, sola feels is not one of the "sola's" of Christian theology.

That being said, let’s see what God has told us about how HE feels (not us as individuals or as a society feel) about the way we take care of our bodies!

1. GOD LIVES IN YOU (Gal. 2:19-20; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 9:27)

As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are not the only one living inside your skin. Christ actively is living in you and wanting to live through you. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, as well. If Jesus walked up to you one day and said, “Hey, friend. I love you and think we should live together so that I can be a constant Helper to you! Will you build a house for us?” Would you build a little shack out of rotten boards and old nails? Would you build a frail house made of sticks and stones and probably cardboard covering the patches trying to keep rain out? Would you build the house out of little carved idols that you worship made of silver and gold and say, “Hey, God, ignore the fact that I love these idols more than I love you, look how beautiful they are! Aren’t you glad I did this for me…I mean you??” OF COURSE NOT!!!!

Christian, the Creator of the Universe and the Author and Finisher of our faith deserves more than a beaten-down little shack. He deserves a well-crafted, well-thought out, strong, and sturdy place to dwell. Build your temple to glorify HIM.

2. GOD VALUES PHYSICAL TRAINING (1 Tim. 4:8)

Now, note that the verses says that bodily training is of some value, because a right relationship with God holds more value than any other thing in the Universe. But it is interesting that this phrase is even in the Bible, telling us that God does value physical fitness. If He didn’t, the verse would say, “…bodily training is of no value…” or, “…bodily training is worthless…” or, it probably just would use a completely different analogy altogether.

3. GOD CARES ABOUT YOUR BODY (1 Thess. 5:23)

“Now may your whole spirit, soul, and BODY be kept blameless until the coming of our Lord…” God wants our spirit, our soul, and our body. Many Christians, myself included, believe that humans are a trichotomy (made up of three parts being body, soul, and spirit), as opposed to being made up of two parts (dichotomy-soul/spirit and body). The reason I bring that up is because--one, it’s super cool that God would make us in His image (being made of three parts) and also because IF we are made of spirit, soul, and body, then we are responsible for each of those things. God cares about what we do with our bodies. If He didn’t, He probably wouldn’t warn against sexual immorality quite so much. ANYWAY moving along, that brings us straight into the next point.

4. YOU WERE FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE (Psalm 139:14)

Not only did God make us in His image, He was so careful and constructed each of us as individual masterpieces, created through Christ to do good works which He has prepared in advance for us. We are to THANK HIM, says the Psalmist, because His works are excellent. The Psalm goes on to say that God made each of us skillfully, and that each of our days were ordained for usbefore we ever lived a single one of them. God worked so, so hard on each of us, creating us each for unique and genuinely good purposes. We are His masterpieces, His handiwork. And He has entrusted each of us to RESPECT and CARE FOR ourselves while we are here on earth. That means that we ought not put ourselves down or demean ourselves, and that we ought to do what we can to keep ourselves in tip top shape so that when Christ returns we will not be like the unwise servant who buried his talents in the ground, but rather like the wise servants who invested the talents that were entrusted to them while the master was away. (Matt 25:14-30

So, you see, God really does care about what you do with your bodies. He also cares about how you view your bodies. I personally struggle SO MUCH with self-doubt and with negative self esteem, which is a quite apparent pride issue. It is not right to think of yourself as any less than anyone else. And it breaks the heart of God. Just as it breaks the heart of God when He looks down on His children doing things that are harmful to the beautiful bodies He has crafted for them.

You can see more of Chelsea's work at Chelsea Gets Fit. We here at FRANK Talks are huge proponents of growing in all areas of life (Spirit, Intellect, Health, Occupation, Social, and Financial), and are so glad to have Chelsea tackle this subject. 

Be the Change

"Be the change that you want to see in the world." That's my senior-year advice, to all the upcoming freshmen, and to anyone reading this. It's the advice that sent me on a journey, leading me to start this blog. I started this blog to share my personal thoughts on my faith, my political views, and on living a well-rounded life. It was this advice that sparked my interest in well-roundedness and consequently into politics.

I knew that if I wanted to bring real and positive change, I need to be informed on the issues and to exercise my right to vote! For the past four years I have immersed myself in learning about politics. For the past year, I have followed the presidential election with great anticipation.

More Than Politics

I have informed myself on what the candidates believe. I have educated my friends and encouraged them to vote. I have made my opinions known. I voted. I have exercised my free speech and my right to vote. All of this is futile if that is all I do.

Even if my dream candidate is nominated and elected, that will not fix the problem with our country. It would only begin to fix our problem. It is the Left that teaches our problems are in our circumstances. We need more laws, we need a better President, we need to make this a safer place. On the other hand, the Right is founded on the philosophy of individualism. The idea that the individual has the ability to make life good for himself, if he wants to.

Many of the issues that the Left and Right talk about are far to complex to pass a law, or some executive order, and simply fix. Americans, throughout history have never really trusted the government to do stuff. We won't get old waiting for bureaucrats to decide to do something. We are do-it-yourself people. We start a business or non-profit, and get that problem fixed, if at all possible.

Be A Better Person

No man is an island. Nothing happens in a vacuum. If you want to see a better world, first you must seek to be a better person. Then, when you discover what works, you should encourage others to do the same.

So many issues will not be solved by passing another law, or by some bureaucratic action. Poverty, obesity, violence, education, abortion, joblessness and many more issues could be solved by individuals refusing to accept their situation. By individuals changing their circumstances, instead of letting the circumstances change them. You cannot change circumstances on a global scale, but you can change circumstances within your reach.

Well-Rounded Life

As I have written in previous blogs, I am a firm believer in six arenas of the human experience. We all have them, and we can all grow in each of them. They are spiritual*, intellectual, physical, social, occupational*, and financial.

*(I want to take a minute to explain spiritual and occupational, to clarify my meaning. The spiritual arena is not just for those who believe in the supernatural. The spiritual arena includes your worldview philosophy, your moral philosophy, and your moral practices. For instance, an atheist might have an empirical/naturalist philosophy, and they may live by a utilitarian ethical system. Occupation is about what you do with your time: your job, volunteer work, recreation, or learning new skills.)

The spiritual aspect is the most import, which is why I always list it first. Our founders knew that this Republic was for a moral people: a people that would seek the best for one another. Only a moral people will care to respect the rights of others. An immoral people will simply want their own way, which leads to tyranny.

It is important for us all to grow intellectually. Not simply to receive a diploma, but to be readers, researchers, critical thinkers, and to love the Truth. American obesity will not be solved by government programs, but instead by individuals being motivated to improve their health, and motivating their friends to do the same.

As far as the social, occupational, and financial arenas: there are an countless ways in which these can impact political issues. You only need a bit of imagination to see how these areas can impact society. The social arena is the one that inspired this whole post. I was thinking about how it takes a village to raise a kid. This goes back to the moral arena. Kids are taught morals, not from textbooks, but from relationships. Particularly from their parents. However, I have never seen a well adjusted kid who didn't have mentors outside of their parents. It takes a village to raise a kid, which requires parents to have a good social circle.

I Could Go On

I literally could go on for several pages, on this topic, but I hope that I have demonstrated my point and inspired you. Don't wait for some government official to change the world. Be a well-rounded person. Be the person that you think everyone should be. Be the best version of yourself. Then inspire others to do the same. If we all did that... we could change the world.

Fame

I'm sure we've all dreamed of being famous. We all would love to be universally loved and respected. However, some of us may have decided in the end that we value other things more than popularity (like privacy or sanity). Nonetheless, if you are in any kind of business, you are most likely looking for a way to boost the recognition of your product/brand/business.

Wouldn't you love your brand to be globally recognized? Whether you are a blogger, a YouTuber, an entrepreneur, or you aspire to be a Hollywood celebrity. Too bad we can't all be world famous like Coca-Cola or Brad Pitt. ... Or can we?

Is the Hall of Fame Getting Crowded?

I mean, is it just me, or are there more celebrities in the world these days? It seems like all the time there are more and more people that I am supposed to be able to recognize. When I am watching a movie or TV show, I will often google the actors and peruse through their filmographies. I'm not obsessed, I don't read tabloids, but I like to know a bit about these guys and their work. I find it interesting, and I know I'm not alone in this, because our culture is obsessed with celebrities.

In my time studying the who's who in Hollywood, I've often wondered something: is the number of celebrities in the world growing? Surely, in ancient history there were very few figures who were world renowned, or even who's reputation spread through multiple nations. I'm sure this changed as the world began to become more connected.

Impact of Technology

Telegraphs, radio, movies, and television and many other inventions made it possible for people to become world famous. Not only that, but they allowed more and more people to achieve that world-fame. The connectivity that these technologies provided, allowed us to share our cultures more easily with other countries. However, they still limit recognition to the elite few.

Then the Internet comes along and completely changes the game. Internet innovations allow regular people to connect with an audience, and to grow that audience. The internet even created a new class of fame: internet-famous. These people are known by thousands and millions of people, but are not quite household names. Internet-fame is to recognition, what the middle-class is to economic status.

How Wealth is like Fame

Wealth is not a single pie which needs to be divided evenly among all the people. A better analogy for wealth would come from agriculture: seeds and crops, which have the ability to multiply. Through hard work, innovation and trade, we can create new wealth. In two previous blogs, I have argued for this concept. Both of these blog posts were inspired by this video, which explains the concept a little more fully than I do.

Recognition is capital in the same way the money is. I think anyone would agree that recognition is always an asset for your brand. Much like wealth, recognition is a resource with very little limits. Not every brand or personality can achieve the status of being a house-hold name. However, there are two factors which are increasing: the number of people in the world, and connectivity through the Internet.

Our culture treats wealth and fame like they are inherently evil things, like those who pursue them must be selling out. I would contend that neither is inherently evil, it all depends on what you do with your money or recognition. You can use wealth to donate to charity, give people jobs, or buy a bunch of equipment and fight crime as the Batman. Fame can also be used for good. You can use recognition (or today, a following) to bring light to issues, events and even to good artwork.

How to Grow Your Recognition

Do you remember the end of the Muppet Movie, where Kermit and the Muppets finally make it to Hollywood, find a producer, and say to him "We'd like the rich and famous contract please." Yeah, I'd like that contract too. No seriously. Where can I find this contract? I would like to know. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that.

You grow your audience the same way that you grow your wealth: through hard work, innovation and trade. You work hard and get creative to make content that people will enjoy. Innovations in internet advertising allow us to target specific audiences. While free-trade happens all through the advertising process, one of the greatest ways to expand your reach is through collaboration.

Collaborating with other creators is like free-trade: you can both grow your reach, and walk away with more followers. You want to collaborate with creators who make content similar to your own. We've all seen stars on YouTube who have grown this way. When YouTube stars first started collaborating, that's when the community (and the individual stars) really started to take off. By continually creating more (and better) content, you can continue to grow your reach.

As your recognition grows, you can collect bigger profits. As you collect bigger profits, you can hire more people... and become Batman.

So that's why I'm not afraid to say that I want to be rich and famous. Please share this post if you liked it. I just really want to become Batman. Also, tell me what you think. Tweet at me @frank_perseo or comment on the Frank Talks facebook page. 

Cut the Cable

I was four years old, maybe younger. My sister and I woke up early one day to watch the relatively new show called Barney and Friends. There may have been a bowl of cereal in my hands as I watched the purple dinosaur prance around the screen. Then, at a point where I remember my young curiosity being peaked, the show cut off. I can still feel the confusion and panic that I felt in that moment. I was beginning to meltdown, but luckily my big sister knew what to do.

She ran to our parents' room, and I followed her to ask what had happened. My mom was only half-awoken from her sleep when she muttered words that my little mind couldn't possibly understand at that age: "I cancelled our cable." What does that mean? Does that mean I will never know what Barney was about to say? (I still, to this day, do not know.) What were we going to do with our morning? Life as we know it had come to an end.

My Parents are Kinda Hipsters

My parents cancelled their cable... before it was cool. My understanding is that this was all my mom's decision. She just one day decided that it wasn't worth the money. A few years ago, I read an article saying that many families have started doing the same. I like to think of my mom as the ultimate trend setter.

I grew up on only a limited number of movies, and a lot of playing outside. At this point I usually get the gawking looks, the disbelief. I used to think that people were just teasing, but turns out that they actually can't believe I grew up without TV (and there are a lot of movies I still haven't seen). It shocks me that people can't fathom life without a television.

How did I turn out?

I was still hooked, however. Whenever we were out, if the television was on, my face was glued to it. I think the forbidden-ness of it was what attracted me to it. This may also be what has attracted me to the film industry. Since I was at least 10, I have said that I wanted to be a director. Really, I wanted to be a man with many hats (like my hero, Ben Franklin), but director (or something in film) has always been one of those hats.

Nine years ago (2007) was when we first got WiFi in our house. That same summer I discovered a site called YouTube, and I immediately began to make up for lost time. Over time I found so many shows that I could watch online, with no extra charge to my parents. Many people have discovered this phenomenon, which is probably why there exists this trend of people cancelling their cable.

My question: why hasn't everyone joined this movement? I promise, I won't look down my nose at those who choose to keep cable. My main purpose here is to talk about the benefits of internet-based media, but I will also point out some benefits of cancelling cable as well.

Save money

The first benefit of cancelling your cable is the most obvious: the money you save. This was important to my parents when they cancelled. If you can afford the time and the money to keep your cable, feel free to. However, if you are struggling with finances, I would strongly recommend cancelling. Think of all the money you will free up. Fortunately, with this point I am most likely preaching to the choir.

FOMO- Fear of Missing Out

I would suspect that this is a key reason that people don't want to cancel, they fear being out of the loop with all the cool shows going on. Let me tell you, I've lived my whole life out of the TV loop. Trust me, it's not that bad. I think, deep down inside, it's been the one thing that has inspired me to be unique. I'm not interested in following the trends, I am interested in setting them.

More options

I don't know about all of my readers, but I grew up in a very religious background. I always hear religious people complain about how evil the entertainment media has become. They complain about how Hollywood keeps pushing an agenda. My grand-pop (who was in no way religious) also used to lament that televisions was "nothing but a vast wasteland". We can debate that presumption in the comments, but so many people who believe this still have their cable.

Today you can seek out and find media that is more agreeable to you. Now I think that you shouldn't only consume media that you agree with. I believe that the mind is sharpened by being exposed to difficult problems. However, you can stop banging your head against the wall. Lift up your eyes. Look around you. There are more options to choose from.

Support small businesses

I hear about the importance of this all the time, from both the left, the right and the undecided. Well, maybe we all can start practicing what we preach. I am not saying that you absolutely must cancel your cable, or that you can never go see another Hollywood film again. I am saying to diversify. I personally prefer independent media to mainstream media.

When you support independent media with your money, you are helping small businesses grow. You are giving young artist/entrepreneurs a shot at living on their dream. I am not quite "anti-corporation" but there are 6 corporations which run all the mainstream media in America. I am not saying "down with the man", but I would rather see the shrinking of the mainstream media, and the growth of independent media.

So, tell me what you think. Tweet at me @frank_perseo or comment on the Frank Talks Facebook page. Do you still have your cable? Do you consume a lot of independently produced media? If so, what are some of your favorite sources? Has this blog given you something to think about? I am curious to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading!