Day 20 (Spirit over Flesh)

Day 20

“No pain, no gain!” Right?... Sometimes but not always.

The saying comes hand in hand with the “overload” principle we’ve discussed. The more you push, the more it hurts, the more you tear your muscles and push your body, and the more you increase in muscle size, strength, speed, etc. Too much pain when exercising is a sign that you’re pushing too hard and may have seriously hurt yourself. Still more, the idea that pain will produce a good result is just plain ridiculous.

This is the first time where physical health and spiritual health, in a way, opposed each other. This weekend, I went skeet and trap shooting, fishing, and motorcycle riding with my dad. Spiritually, it was a time of fun, reflection, and bonding between father and son. I believe God looked upon us and was pleased. Unfortunately, just because I may have held a shotgun or fishing pole for a while, doesn’t mean it made me for physically healthy. I can definitely say that the pain I felt after shooting a hundred rounds doesn’t make me physically stronger. The fact is, after 2 days, my shoulder is still tender, my head is slightly sunburned and I don’t think my shoulder is any stronger nor my head any tougher.

I guess the point is that, sometimes, we can do things that may actually hinder our physical health in order to strengthen our spiritual health. While I think the day’s activities weren’t actually harmful to my health, rather slightly painful, I would always say that Spiritual Health should take precedence over Physical Health. Normally, we can have both, but if it comes down to it, the spirit is always to have control over the flesh!