Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, 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 4:7-8
What characteristics of a professional athlete/musician/singer/artist make them great and successful?
Perseverance. Dedication. Hard work. Discipline. Being Intentional. Focusing on a goal. These are some.
God encourages us to train to be godly (train ourselves in godliness.)
In writing to Timothy, Paul and tells him to train like a professional athlete when it comes to godliness. The word “train” in this scripture means to train professionally in a gymnasium. A professional athlete works extremely hard with a dedication to perfecting their skills. “The term here (gumnazó) implies rigorous and consistent effort, akin to the dedication of an athlete preparing for competition.” (Berean Strong’s Lexicon)
Paul challenged Timothy and by extension all believers, to pursue godliness with the same dedication as a professional athlete would pursue their sport. Athletes maximize their agility, skill or endurance from constant, rigorous training. We are challenged to be diligent, dedicated and disciplined to train our lives to live godly in all situations. In a sense, our goal is to be “professional followers of Jesus Christ” in our pursuit of godliness.
Paul also contrasted the professional athlete with an old decrepit woman. The use of the words, “profane legends and old wives’ tales” portray a broken down, feeble, senile person.
The Greek word that is used here (anile) to explain myths and legends describes a battered, broken-down, creaky, dilapidated, feeble, frail, infirm person. It represents someone that is crazy and very weak.
Profane legends and old wives fables are weak, frail, broken-down and deceitful. They cannot hold up any weight.
Once again think of a professional athlete, at the peak of their strength, versus a 95 year old man or woman with dementia. This is a physical picture of the spiritual strength in godliness that God wants us to have. He wants godliness to be so strong in our lives that the weak lies of the society around us have no chance to infect us. The person who is training themselves in godliness does so with focus, intention, purpose and dedication. They train like a professional because they want their godliness to be the best that it can be.
That is what God desires for our lives.
I encourage you today to train yourselves in godliness. Integrity, Honesty. Love. Patience. Faith. Humility. Perseverance and so much more. Practice the attributes of a godly person in your life today.