8 Bible Verses About Physical Exercise

By Ligonberry Fields, BuzzVine Contributor
Jessica Desmond, an instructor at the Mile High Run Club, leads a class in a Manhattan borough of New York, November 14, 2014. A New York City fitness studio is following fast on the heels of the indoor cycling, or spin, craze by beckoning outdoor runners to come in from the cold for group treadmill classes. Equipped with 30 treadmills, lighting evocative of dusk or dawn, and group training designed to hone the skills of marathoners and newbies alike, fitness experts say MHRC might do a bit to burnish the image of the most used, least glamorous, of gym cardio machines.
Jessica Desmond, an instructor at the Mile High Run Club, leads a class in a Manhattan borough of New York, November 14, 2014. A New York City fitness studio is following fast on the heels of the indoor cycling, or spin, craze by beckoning outdoor runners to come in from the cold for group treadmill classes. Equipped with 30 treadmills, lighting evocative of dusk or dawn, and group training designed to hone the skills of marathoners and newbies alike, fitness experts say MHRC might do a bit to burnish the image of the most used, least glamorous, of gym cardio machines. | (Photo: Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

The Bible has much to say about how we should treat our physical selves: Treating the body as a temple, disciplining the body, taming the tongue, running the race.

While such gems as "cleanliness is next to godliness" do not appear in the Good Book, parts of the Old and New Testaments do talk about staying fit.

Need some motivation to run those laps, to skip that second helping of chicken or that extra-large soda at the movies? Here are some verses and passages for you!

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1. 1 Corinthians 9:26-27

Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

2. 2 Timothy 2:5

Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.

Students practice antigravity yoga at a training room in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, January 11, 2015. The use of hammocks help practicers to release pressure from their spines and reshape their bodies, according to local media reports.
Students practice antigravity yoga at a training room in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, January 11, 2015. The use of hammocks help practicers to release pressure from their spines and reshape their bodies, according to local media reports. | (Photo: Reuters/Stringer)

3. Romans 12:1

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship.

4. 1 Corinthians 10:31

Therefore, whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.

5. Isaiah 40:31

… [B]ut those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Clients work out on machines in Arvada, Colorado.
Clients work out on machines in Arvada, Colorado. | (Photo: Reuters/File)

6. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.

7. Proverbs 10:4

A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

8. Hebrews 6:12

We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

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