Exercise: A Complete Waste of Your Time

Last Friday, my parents and I went to a city park to exercise.
After we got all sweaty and yucky, we took our smelly selves to Crackerbarrel for brunch. While we were talking to one of the super-friendly waitresses about exercising, the super-friendly waitress said,

"I used to pay close attention to what I ate and make sure I exercised and went to great lengths to take care of my body. Now that I really need to exercise, I just don't care so much about it. Why is it that when we get older -- when our bodies need more attention -- we tend to not give them as much attention?"

 Fact: 10 out of 10 people die.

That is why, as we get older, we don't care about our bodies as much as we used to: because as we get older, the more we realize that we don't get to keep our bodies. We go to more funerals; we see the decay of others' bodies and even experience the decay of our own.

We know that our bodies will inevitably become worm food.
Why then do we spend so much time and money on something that will not last?
It's an understatement to say there are worthier pursuits:

No one's heart will ever cease to exist, yet we do not think about our hearts. Or even the hearts of our "loved" ones. How can you say you love someone if you are going to let them step into hell without even a word to warn them?

If you put so much effort into saving your body (which cannot be saved) and no effort toward making sure others' souls will be saved, your actions testify against you that:

• You care about the way you look, but you don't care if the person right in front of you goes to hell. If all of us put as much effort into sharing the love of Christ and proclaiming the good news of the life He offers as we do into our wardrobe and into making sure people think well of us, I would be quite surprised if not everyone in the U.S. heard the gospel backwards and forwards several times in the next week. But I bet that doesn't happen. I bet we will go right on meticulously fixing our make-up, and avoiding potentially controversial conversations for the sake of our own comfort.
• You don't really believe you are going to die. Otherwise, you would not waste your life on things that do not last after this life: your body, your house, your career, your education. You would do what really matters: telling people about what Christ has done for us so that they can have real life after their bodies die.
• You don't think Heaven is anything to look forward to. Otherwise, you would be thinking about it and trying to find out what it is like. You would "fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:13

Our lives go by so fast. Please don't waste yours worrying about appearances.

Please believe that Jesus Christ has been punished for your wrongs so that you don't have to be punished for them.

Please believe that accepting that Christ has done this for you is the only way to go to Heaven, the only way to save you heart from hell, the only way to live forever.

Please believe that if you don't tell people about what Christ has done for them, you are indirectly murdering their hearts.