I Tim. 4:8 ... "Bodily exercise is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."
The human life is composed of more than just one part, and in its comprehensive application to human beings the Bible brings attention to bear upon every part. In contrast, the effort is often made by science to reduce man's nature to a single component, matter, and then to deal with him only in that dimension. Dismissing the soul as imaginary, the mind is explained as a complex system of interrelated functions that are biochemical and electrochemical. Man and his brain are ranked as the current highest achievement of the materialistic evolutionary phenomenon that characterizes life on this planet. This conclusion of science has won such acceptation that the physical dimension of life claims nearly our entire attention. So we occupy ourselves with the effort to keep our bodies in the best possible condition through proper diet, exercise, rest, and medical care. We pamper our bodies with the best clothing, cosmetics, and new body care products in order to maximize their beauty and strength, prolong their youthful vitality, and derive the greatest pleasure from their sensual gratification.
Up to a point the Lord approves of our taking the best possible care of our bodies, since they are the temples in which His Holy Spirit dwells. We are told in I Cor. 3:16-17 that "you (Christians) are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you. If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are." (See also I Cor. 6:18-20.) The proper maintenance and care of our material bodies is what the lead text is referring to when it says that "bodily exercise is only of little profit." Such attention preserves the body as God's temple so long as God gives it life. But the Bible insists that the unseen part of man, the soul, the part of us that is created "in the image of God," (Gen. 1:27), is the more important part and must never be neglected.
Godliness is the careful attention given to the soul's welfare that corresponds to the care and attention one gives his body. This is not an equivalent correspondence, however, for in the grand scheme of things the importance of the soul far outranks that of the body. The body is composed of earthly elements and will eventually disintegrate into them, but the soul is made from a spark of divinity which can never be extinguished. Thus the text says that "godliness ... holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." There are two components of godliness, right attitude toward God and right conduct which proceeds as a result. Right attitude toward God embraces the conviction that He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, that He is the Author of human life, and that He is Ruler of all men through grace and love in perfect justice. This conviction generates devotion within one's soul toward God, and it is upon this response that "godliness" may be equated with reverence. Until godliness is established within your soul, whatever right conduct you can manage in outward behavior will be stiff and mechanical. But once the godliness is there, right conduct will flow without force in your outward conduct. No one can fully explain the way this works, for there is "the mystery of godliness," (I Tim. 3:16). We do know, however, that there is a power in godliness that drives it along to accomplish great results, (II Tim. 3:5).
My welcomed reader, unto what do you devote your greatest attention, to your temporal physical body, or to your eternal spiritual soul? If it is to the body, then your major concern is health, exercise, nutrition, and outward appearance. If it is to the soul, your major attention is fixed upon knowing God more intimately and building godliness in your soul.
