14 Days to Integrating Faith and FitnessSample

Pursue Character and Integrity

Integrity: (noun) whole and undivided. To have integrity means that who you are in the gym is who you are on Sunday mornings. Who you are on your pre-workout drink is who you are on a Saturday night. Though you may see a distinction there, and a vast difference between work, church, hobbies, and relaxing, pursuing integrity means that we begin to prioritize our relationship with God across all avenues of who we are.

Many times we don’t realize that people are watching us to see how we talk, think, laugh, and love. They’re keenly observing how we encourage, react, spend our money, and relax. And nothing is quite the turnoff like hypocrisy: saying you value one thing, yet doing another.

In Philippians 4:9, Paul said, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Wow! Take stock of your life right now: can you say that? Basically Paul is saying, “Watch how I’ve lived. Now go live like that.” The thought of someone watching you in your best moments and imitating them is one thing. But what if they were to follow you around in multiple environments on multiple days? If someone watches your actions in the gym, in the office, and on the weekend and puts those into practice in their own life, would they be honoring Jesus? What if they watched how your thoughts processed when nobody else was around?