I am sure this is what it means to exercise faith. I can sit here thinking, “Well, if I exercise every day, I believe I’ll be healthier” — but unless I faithfully follow through, I will never gain the benefits of exercise, nor the knowledge that it really does work. And I had to realize the other week that sitting here thinking something would be good for me while consistently failing to do it does not make me faithful. It makes me wishful.

Christopher and Derrick, your points about pain that can indicate or foretell damage are things that I considered but chose not to address. I am glad you mentioned them.

Trishelle, I am glad my post was helpful to you. Most recently I have considered a 5k, but at other times I have considered a marathon or perhaps a half marathon. If Tanner can do it, I know I can. =) Jarom’s experiences only help inspire me more.

Wow…awesome blog post. I loved the title too! I’m glad you enjoyed the podcast of my interview. I like the following paragraph you wrote…it is SOOOOO TRUE:

When you stop using your muscles, they atrophy. When you stop cleaning the house, it becomes a garbage dump. When you stop working, you stop getting money. When you stop putting gas in your car, it eventually stops running. Weakness that only gets weaker. Laziness only gets more lazy. What is the common theme in all of this? A lack of energy. When we stop putting our energy into something, it stops working.

Thanks man, JT

Two examples:

1. If I start doing push-ups or lifting weights and go far beyond my limit and perform the exercise incorrectly I could end up damaging a muscle or ligament to the point that I can no longer exercise until my body heals during which time my muscles would not grow and I may be worse off than before I started exercising.

2. In the military training camps recruits are often pushed well beyond their preconcieved limits so that a young man who came in thinking, “I can pump out a good 45 push-ups easy, but I hit a wall when I get to 60,” may do many more than 60 push-ups on his first or second try with someone there to motivate him past the pain.

I agree with your conclusion that we need to keep putting energy into life in order to grow and even if we just want to maintain our status quo. And I appreciate the connection to the parable of the talents. We will definitely lose what we don’t actively persue. So your thought works for what you intended, however we must always be aware of the kind of pain we are trying to push past.

Is it merely the pain or discomfort of progression (if yes, then continue) or is it the pain (like sin, or the injured muscles of the first example) reminding us that we need to change our ways and make sure that we are doing the exercise right. If the pain is the latter, it is still there to help us learn, but instead of pushing through it we need to alter our approach.