Approximately 73.6% of adults, aged 20 and older, are considered either overweight or obese. Also, according to the CDC, only about 24% of Americans regularly exercise. Could there be a correlation?

Why do so many of us fail to exercise our bodies? A lack of strong mind-muscle over the body’s desires is core to the failure. The body does not like exercise. It resists our better judgment to be healthy. It is the same with sin. We do what we don’t want to do because our mind fails to overcome the body’s desires.  

In The Master’s Program, we discuss God’s calls to conversion, transformation, faithfulness, and fruitfulness. Most have said “yes” to God for conversion, but many have yet to be transformed. Sadly, it took me 22 years after my conversion before I intentionally pursued transformation.  

Transformation is becoming Christ-like. The Apostle Paul says not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. He says this is how to prove the will of God and that which is perfect (Romans 12:2). But sin gets in the way of our desire to be Christ-like. 

God has designed the mind to be over matter (our physical desires). You don’t need to be a slave to sin. You can be a slave to righteousness. The difference is a healthy mind muscle that can overcome the body’s desires.

Step into the Mind Gym. Exercise the anti-sin muscle. It does not require confrontation with sin. The “workout” is about regularly denying the body’s desires. It’s about delaying gratification. Build the mind’s capacity to say “no” to the body’s whims.  

Exercises could include fasting from food for a day, stopping coffee for a week, or not eating any added sugar for a month. The Mind Gym is a series of decisions to exercise mind authority and control over the body. If you think you can’t possibly give up a desire, that’s probably a good place to start. Say “no” to the body for a realistic amount of time. As your mind-muscle gets stronger, you can endure longer periods. 

Mind-muscle exercise must become a habit. You must constantly prove your mind’s authority over the body to remain healthy.  

How is this the anti-sin muscle? It turns out that the same mind authority exercised over permissible body desires (e.g., coffee, food, sugar) is the same strength required to resist opportunities to sin. A repeated Mind Gym practice of saying “no” to the body’s permissible desires will become a practice of saying “no” to the body’s desire to sin.  

Join me in the pursuit of transformation. Become a slave to righteousness, putting Jesus’ words into practice. Get into the Mind Gym.

In your corner,
Rob

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