Have you ever known anyone who was obsessed with working out? It seemed like whenever you saw them, they were wearing gym clothes, either going to the gym, coming from the gym, or maybe they just like dressing that way through the course of the day.
You can see it not just in their dress, but every aspect of their lives. They’re particular about what they eat, they’re always reading articles about new workout techniques or nutrition. And they love to talk about those things, whether it’s a class they’re doing, or how sore they are, or how well or how badly they’re doing in working toward their fitness goals.
And in just about every case, if you express interest in trying to get into shape yourself, they’ll have plenty of advice. They may not even wait for you to ask, because it’s that important to them, and they think it should be important to you, too!
They are what we would consider “fanatical.”
Invariably, there’s a point to which that person becomes obnoxious – after all, fanaticism about anything can be a little unsettling. We’re tired of hearing about the subject, we feel somewhat judged because of the choices he makes, particularly when he encourages us to do the same or questions some of the decisions we make, and sometimes it even annoys us just being around someone who is so successful in an area where we know we’re lagging behind. We may get to the point where we just don’t like being around that person.
The fanatical Christian
Have you ever felt that way? Maybe it’s not the gym rat; maybe you’ve seen someone who had something in their life they just couldn’t stop talking about, to the point where it became annoying! And found yourself saying “I don’t want to be that guy.”
But the reality is that when we talk about spiritual training, it requires a level of commitment that people might consider fanaticism, even more than physical training. With physical training, I don’t really need to do that much in order to at least take care of myself. If I’m a world-class athlete, that’s one thing. But most of us aren’t training for the Olympic games. Working on our physical fitness probably doesn’t take more than an hour or so a day our of our lives, and probably less.
If we’re disciples of Christ, we are constantly training, continually developing, never truly satisfied with where we are and always pushing ahead to grow closer to God. And the obstacles to that goal are a lot stronger, a lot more difficult to overcome than our urgency often indicates. Our spiritual training intensity often doesn’t match the calling we have in Christ.
Maybe that’s because I’m not committed enough to put in the work, or maybe I just don’t want to achieve the full goal – I’m satisfied with whatever level of discipleship I’ve achieved and I’m not really interested in growth in that area.
What happens when commitment fades?
But even more than with physical exercise, when I stop working on my spiritual strength, it immediately starts to fade. As Jesus describes in the parable of the sower, my life quickly becomes overgrown with other cares and concerns, and it stops bearing fruit. It stops producing the character and works that God wants from us. I can’t be a “casual Christian” and expect to even maintain my faith, let alone increase it.
That means that if we truly care about serving God, we’re always thinking about how to get the most out of our spiritual training. Do we care enough about our training to wear the right gear? To eat the right foods? To put in the time that is required to achieve the outcome we need?
Paul tells Timothy in his second letter that no soldier entangles himself in cares of the world, because his focus is on doing the job he’s been called to do. Is that how I see my life in Christ? Because when I do, some of my decisions and actions are going to start looking a little extreme to people in the world!
Living with intention for Christ
I pay attention to what I introduce into my body to make sure it isn’t interfering with my spiritual growth, and if it is, I’ll put it away. I’m not focused on creating a worldly image of myself through my dress, through my speech, through my activities, but instead as Paul describes it, I’m clothing myself — allowing myself to be identified — with good works.
The idea Paul introduces of putting on the armor of God implies a deliberate, intentional approach to each day. I don’t just get up and wander out the door to see what happens, I prepare myself to defend against worldly influences. I prepare myself to seek out ways to glorify God and to bring grace to others.
Do I spend time thinking about my spiritual training the way I would if I were preparing for combat? All of a sudden, every advantage, every tool, every aspect of my life becomes something for me to attend and attune in service to God.
If we’re living that life, with that level of dedication, people will notice. And that puts us into the realm of what many would consider to be “religious fanatic.” Does that bother us? Are we constantly tempted to say “Look I love God, but that doesn’t define me!” or “I’m not one of those people who lives and breathes the Bible!” Because we know how the world sees those people.
But we also know that God calls us to BE those people.
Showing Christ fanatically, not hypocritically
It’s certainly true that Jesus taught often about the hypocrisy of doing deeds to be seen of men, praying publicly, giving to charity publicly, making a big show of our faith. It’s like the guy who only wears the workout gear so people will have that image of him. It’s more important to him that people SEE him this way than for him to actually be that person.
One might argue it’s like a podcast host who makes analogies about physical training but hasn’t been back to the gym since the COVID situation escalated! But we won’t go down that road…
The point isn’t for us to find ways to overtly show people we love God – post the right Bible verse, make sure our Bible is sitting on the living room table, inviting people to worship, make sure people see all the things we do – and don’t do – because of our faith. It’s about becoming that person – the one who goes to church because he can’t imagine missing an opportunity to worship God. The one who has a Bible on his coffee table because he reads it all the time. The one who posts that verse or talks about that Bible lesson because it genuinely moved him, and because he thought it might help someone else.
When we become people who are walking not after the flesh but after the spirit as Paul describes in Romans 6, people will notice. They may not like us as a result. But they’ll see Jesus. And they’ll see people who truly put Jesus first in their lives, who truly aspire to be like Jesus, people who are continually and devotedly training for godliness.
That’s the image we want people to see in us.
