Proxy wars have a long history. Viet Nam was less about Viet Nam, more about the United States and the Soviet Union. Hamas may well be doing the bidding of Iran. Conservative Christians on twitter have of late been treated to the great war over Christian Nationalism. Issues of eschatology, kinship and right government have led to not just disagreement, but snark and arrogance. Who knew, however, that physical fitness would be dragged into the war?
On one side we have those who argue that physical fitness is a. good stewardship of the bodies God has given us, b. fruitful in keeping up a fighting spirit in the culture wars, c. counter-cultural d. reflective of godly masculinity. On the other side are those who argue that physical fitness is a. not directly commanded in God’s Word, b. deemed to be of little profit compared to spiritual fitness, c. culturally defined and d. reflective of an arrogant demeanor.
It is not my intention to chime in as the wizened old fat cat to call for maturity and balance over every issue coming down the pike. The problem is that every issue that comes down the pike is running on empty when it comes to maturity and balance. This one is no exception.
A few decades ago the esteemed Dr. John Frame argued that those of us who argued for the great hymns of the faith over against praise choruses and who used arguments built on the relative aesthetic virtues of each were forced to conclude that we could only sing one song, the best one. If Amazing Grace is the ultimate in objective beauty, and Holy, Holy, Holy the penultimate, that makes Holy, Holy, Holy simply the first loser, and thus to be rejected as swiftly as Reckless Love. To which I said, hogwash. Two can play that game. If beauty is really subjective, we could sing Jesus Loves Me to death metal or to the sounds of screaming babies, and it would be fine.
In like manner, the physical fitness mandate doesn’t have bright, shining lines on either side. The bros who don’t even lift would surely acknowledge that sitting all day while downing nothing but donuts is a bad thing. The bros who do lift, on the other hand, surely wouldn’t argue that eating a grape is sinful, bad stewardship because it has sugar, even if it is natural. No one is saying you can only eat kale and can never sit down.
Which means, at the end of the day, all we’re left to argue about is relative emphasis. Which means we shouldn’t argue. The Bible explicitly says,
“For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another’s servant?” (Rom. 14: 2-4a.).
Exercise is a good thing, and like all good things it can be underappreciated and overappreciated. Sitting around judging your neighbor, on the other hand, is a bad thing. Let him who lifts lift, and him who doesn’t lift, not lift. Neither the lifter nor the non-lifter is superior to the other and arguing otherwise is nothing more than the disciples bickering over their standing in His kingdom.