The Goodness of Bodily Discipline

So, don’t waste your body. Be the most equipped to serve physically and mentally now. Don’t wait until you are later in life to turn things around.

I spent a few years in a tradition that was vicious towards that little thing called drinking, and then there was that little thing called dancing, and then there was that other thing called playing poker, and then there were about a hundred other things that consumed some pulpit time, and a lot of ink. My father, who was an ardent Baptist minister, tended to be a bit more moderate on these issues privately. Still, by and large, the tradition I called home cared a whole lot about suppressing Christian liberty while offering myriad opportunities for inconsistency.

It’s an important note to affirm that the Bible does address drinking (Eph. 5:18, I Tim. 5:23), dancing (Jer. 31:4), and playing (Zech. 8:5). All these things are good in and of themselves, but can also be abused. But for these authority structures with whom I spent my early years, all these things could only lead to our demise.