Tag Archives: 1 Timothy 4

Body, Mind, and Spirit

October 6, 2025 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

“Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.”
1 Timothy 4:7 (NIV)

Part of my routine of late has been to get in a two-mile walk in the morning at least three to four times a week. It’s been interesting to find a community of walkers in our neighborhood who all walk around the same time. It’s been fun to wave, to greet, and to feel a sense of camaraderie with others as I try to keep my body healthy. The encouragement and feeling of community is something that’s good for me.

The truth is that I have typically been very disciplined in my spiritual exercise regimen over the years. This chapter-a-day blog will celebrate its 20 year anniversary next March. Spending time with God in the quiet, studying the Great Story, meditating on what it has for me each day is something that has become like breathing for me. I don’t even think about it. It just comes naturally.

Physical exercise, on the other hand, is something I have to consciously choose to do. Over the years I’ve had stops-and-starts. My weight has fluctuated. I go through a season of being disciplined and feeling the benefits of improved health, and then my discipline wanes.

As I have greeted my fellow walking community comrades in recent weeks, it strikes me that I’m probably not typical. I think more people are given to physical training more than they are to spiritual training.

In today’s chapter, Paul encourages his young protégé Timothy in this very subject. Paul urges Timothy to be disciplined in spiritual training that leads to godliness. The word for training he uses is the Greek word gymnaze from which we get the word gymnasium. Paul then references the physical training that the Greco-Roman Timothy knows quite well as everyone in that day was familiar with athletes training for the Olympic games in gymnasiums. Even in Paul and Timothy’s day, the Olympics were major event in the Roman Empire. Roman Emperors loved to leverage the spectacle and popularity of the Olympics to show off their prestige.

Paul leveraged the metaphor of athletes, training, games, and victory over and over again in his writings. It was one of his favorites, and the connection is very real. Training, whether physical, intellectual, or spiritual requires a conscious choice, regular discipline, and perseverance over time to realize the long-term benefits.

I’m reminded in the quiet this morning that God continually calls me to wholeness in body, mind, and spirit. Paul urges Timothy in spiritual training. He likewise urged the believers in Corinth their bodies were the Temple of the Holy Spirit and to take care of that Temple. He urged the believers in Rome to be transformed by training and renewing their minds.

Body, mind, and spirit. God reminds me that being a healthy follower of Jesus requires choice, discipline, training, and perseverance in all three areas.

It’s raining this morning, so no two-mile walk. Time to hit the gym.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Promotional graphic for Tom Vander Well's Wayfarer blog and podcast, featuring icons of various podcast platforms with a photo of Tom Vander Well. — These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!

Chapter-a-Day

Two Kinds of Fitness

June 10, 2019 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

…train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV)

It was last year’s annual physical that motivated me that I needed to do something to improve my physical fitness. I was having some heart concerns and my doctor put me on meds and told me to “get moving.” As I’ve mentioned in these posts, I began going to a local CrossFit class. It’s been just about a year now, and, while my work and travel schedule regularly interrupt my routine, I’m still going at it. Early on, one of my instructors asked me if I had a goal. Without hesitation I answered, “Yes. To keep showing up!”

Last week I once again had my annual physical, and I was anxious to get my results. My blood work revealed that I still have to watch what I eat and be cognizant of my cholesterol levels. The big difference was my heart rate and blood pressure. My resting heart rate was very low and my blood pressure was down. My doc told me to go off of the meds for a few weeks and see how I do. So far, so good!

This came to mind as I read today’s chapter. Paul tells Timothy to “train yourself to be godly,” adding that physical training is valuable, but godliness is profitable for all things. This, of course, got me to thinking about the meaning of godliness which I believe our contemporary culture would ascribe some notion of moral purity and a puritanical life.

The Greek word Paul used, which is translated into English as “godliness” is the word eusebia which comes from two words meaning “well” and the other meaning “venerate” or “pay homage.” The lexicon gave this definition of the word: “someone’s inner response to the things of God, which shows itself in reverence.” In other words, godliness isn’t pointing toward some set list of moral purity, but rather it’s spiritual cardiac training. It’s the spiritual heart response to the things of God. I couldn’t help but think of David of whom God called “a man after my own heart” despite having a less than stellar morality scorecard.

In the quiet this morning I’m thinking about working out today, which I have to force myself to do when I’m away from home and can’t get to CrossFit. I’m also thinking about what it means to “train” in my “inner response to the things of God.” What am I doing to keep my spiritual heart healthy? What am I putting in? Am I being aware of the Spirit connection to everything in my life? Am I taking time to rest my soul, to spiritually breathe? Am I making time for conversation with God and for contemplation of spiritual things? Am I concerning myself at all with the effect that my daily physical, relational, and moral choices are having on my spiritual heart?

As I enter this week, I’m mindful of the importance of training both my body and my spirit, that I can stay holistically healthy.

Chapter-a-Day

Giving Myself…to What?

November 11, 2015 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.
1 Timothy 4:15 (NIV)

There are only so many hours in a day, and there are only so many days allotted to us in our life journey. Each day we give ourselves away. We invest our time, our energy, our thoughts, and our resources towards different pursuits without giving much thought to it. To what am I giving myself?

I was struck this morning by Paul’s admonition to Timothy to “give himself wholly” to use of his spiritual gifts and his work among the Jesus followers in Ephesus. The goal, Paul told him, was his progress.

This morning I find myself thinking about the natural relationship between what I give myself to and what is being produced in my life. Where am I making progress? What is the evidence of that progress? Am I progressing in ways that are at all worthwhile?

Featured image: kevandotorg via Flickr

Chapter-a-Day

Putting Our Gifts to Work

October 24, 2013 Tom Vander Well 5 Comments

"It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child." — “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”

Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. 1 Timothy 4:15 (NLT)

It has be an interesting week of reading deprivation which was part of the assignment for a creativity class I’m teaching. The idea of the assignment is to break out of normal routines, to do other things with your time, to be less distracted in order to focus on pursuing new paths of action. For me the lesson was in how much of a routine Wendy and I have in certain parts of our day, especially mornings, and how disruptive it can be to disturb those routines.

The class last night discussed the fact that we all feel called to be creative in our own pursuits whether it’s writing, music, artwork, crafts, and etc. We talk about the idea of being creative, but the actual creative work seems never to start. The canvas remains blank and sitting in the corner. The piano gathers dust. The play does not get revised as needed. For this we have a million excuses:

Too busy this week.
Can’t think of anything to write/draw/play.
I’ll get to it tomorrow.
I’m waiting for inspiration.

Yesterday, in preparation for class, I was investigating Pablo Picasso who was notorious for cranking out artwork in steady, flowing streams of creativity. He was constantly painting, sculpting, crafting, and drawing. An art professor of mine once commented that the vast majority of the work Picasso created was “crap” but he made so much of it that his work was constantly evolving and once in a while he would have a breakthrough of pure genius. But, he never would have had the breakthrough of genius if he hadn’t been willing to produce all the crap.

“Inspiration exists,” Picasso once said, “but it has to find us working.”

I thought of my classmates and of Picasso this morning when I read Paul’s encouragement to his protégé, Timothy. Give attention to your calling, your talents, and your gifts. Throw yourself into the action of pursuing and developing them. Only then will you make progress.

“Give me a museum, and I will fill it,” Picasso said.

Now there’s someone putting his gift to work.