Pain Sharing

Spiritual Training Cycle: Foundation (wk. 3/13)

Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:7-12

Those of us who are part of the texting group joke about it periodically. And . . . sometimes at some level we may actually be somewhat serious about it.

I think it started after a particularly brutal 6:30 Friday night WOD (Workout Of the Day).

I should have known what was coming

My friend Jerry had just completed Friday’s 5:30 WOD. He smiled and shook his sweat-drenched head at me as he headed out and I warmed up for the 6:30 class. By the time 7:30 rolled around, I knew why he was shaking his sweat-drenched head at me an hour earlier.

At our box’s community WOD the next morning, I accused Jerry of being a poor friend: instead of shaking his head last night, he should have texted me a warning ahead of time that there was a brutal WOD coming up. Jerry should have done a little pain sharing!

We don’t really mean it (or maybe we wish we did) Over time, our “pain sharing” texting group has expanded to include several other people. We never actually send out a “pain sharing” text but letting one another know that we should has become a simple way to humorously bond together around tough WODs.

While this group is not serious about skipping the tough workouts, there is a principle here that is thousands of years old: We need one another to make it through tough things. Solomon, known as the wisest person who ever lived, shared as much when he wrote down this insight in the fourth chapter of Ecclesiastes almost a thousand years before Jesus was born.

Solomon would have liked CrossFit Ecclesiastes captures Solomon’s wisdom after a lifetime of thinking deeply about people and God. At times Ecclesiastes can be challenging to understand (probably because Solomon is much wiser than we are!), but this stanza in chapter four is pretty straightforward: “Two are better than one.” “If one falls, the other can pick him up.” “Two can stay warm in the cold.” “Two can withstand what one can’t.” In CrossFit words: working out with others helps bring out your best. Three millennium ago, Solomon saw that God wired us for community: we are at our best when we depend on one another.

When I first started doing CrossFit, I didn’t get this principle. I had grown up a bit of a gym rat and was always comparing myself to those around me who were bigger/faster/stronger. Rather than having others around me who supported me, I bought into the mindset of feeling better by making other athletes feel worse.

There’s an ancient reason why a good community makes for better athletes Then I joined a good box. And I saw how people encouraged one another. I saw how coaches helped athletes modify workouts that were too tough—for now. I saw how no one put their equipment away until everyone was done with their workout. I saw how we all celebrated when one of us achieved something we had never achieved before.

At a Hope Project community event last fall, Trey Steele articulated this principle when he shared, “You should never join a gym because of the equipment. You should join because of the people.”

What I have come to understand is this: the demonstration of healthy community at a good CrossFit gym is really a reflection of Solomon’s age-old spiritual wisdom. We might call this “The Friendship Principle” – you and I are wired to be at our best when we work with others.

Questions for Reflection:

Why do you think Solomon’s “Friendship Principle” is so important?

Who do you know who does a really good job of this? How do they do so?

How can you be more purposeful about the Friendship Principle with those around you?

A Spiritual World

Spiritual Training Cycle: Foundation (wk. 2/13)

Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

We exist in a material world. The sound of barbells dropping after a clean and jerk, the feel of the chalk gripping the rig, the smell of the knee sleeves rolled down to the ankles, all attest to a material, physical world we live in. The physical world is also wrapped into the things that are tangible, actionable, and attainable. We can focus on things such as setting PRs, competing for time, or achieving the right body type. The physical aspect of our lives is what makes up our first impressions of everything and everyone we perceive.

There's also an immaterial world we exist in that goes beyond what we can see. When you step into a CrossFit box, the one thing you might notice is that there are no mirrors. Because there are no mirrors to see things like form and figure, you have coaches. Your coach acts as your guide to instruct you wisely to make the best judgment of yourself, to challenge you when you don't feel you've done enough, and to persistently cheer you forward in moments of weakness. They serve as that wingman that notices your blind spots but also a faithful encouragement in your time of need. Coaches help make up that immaterial space where we feel inspired, motivated, and recognized. All the things we cannot analytically measure or tangibly hold in the palm of our hand.

The space that meets us between the physical world is a spiritual one. The spiritual world is made up of all the things we truly desire that we cannot see. Acceptance, peace, joy, and love to name a few, are all things we can try to seek out in the physical things of this world. However, how do you quantify the peace that you get when you are outside in nature breathing in the fresh air of the Great Smoky Mountains? How can you achieve the acceptance of a friend that chooses to sacrifice their time and resources to support you? How can you tangibly hold love like what a parent experiences when they are staring into the eyes of their newborn child nestled in their arms? Without the spiritual reality of things, we cannot live in a thriving humanity and existence. There must be more than what we can see.

Without the spiritual reality of life, we also cannot know God. Jesus says in John 6:46,

"No one has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father."

If we only trusted in what is physical, we wouldn't be able to comprehend even the existence of God. But God uniquely made us material and immaterial. Our spirit can testify to the things unseen. Through the Holy Spirit, God speaks to our hearts. Like a coach guides you through the physical complexities of a lift but also the spiritual desire to endure, the Holy Spirit teaches, corrects, and empowers us, tapping into the physical and spiritual part of our lives in ways we cannot see. Through the Spirit we can better know God's heart and know we're not walking blindly. It says in 1 Corinthians 2:12,

"What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us."

What God has given to us is something that surpasses anything we can ever obtain or earn in this physical life. It's Jesus who came in physical flesh, dying on a material cross, taking the visible scorn of the world to give us a spiritual salvation from the chains of sin. It is in Jesus Christ our Lord that we can live with the same Spirit that also raised Him from the dead to remind us each day of God’s love that sacrificed everything for us. May we seek to grow our relationship with Him each day guided by His Spirit.

Questions for Reflection:

Name the spiritual desire you might have your heart set on that you are looking for in a physical pursuit. Can the material discovery you're looking for satisfy your spiritual need? If so, how?

What difficulties do you face believing/trusting in God when you cannot see Him? Explain why or why it might not be difficult for you.

Purpose

Spiritual Training Cycle: Foundation (wk. 1/13)

Reading: Ephesians 2:8-10

The New Year is here. 2023 brings with it so many opportunities. For some, it’s a beginning. People will be walking into a gym for the first time, or the first time in a long time. They’ll begin making new friends in fitness communities and begin the start of what will hopefully become new healthy habits. Others are continuing. They’re continuing to take on new athletic challenges, such as double-unders or even triple-unders, and putting a bigger focus on physical training. Whether you are beginning or continuing, don’t just train this year. Train with a purpose.

Memes may abound and Instagram accounts may be dedicated to it, but it’s true. Training with purpose matters. Purpose changes how you prepare. It changes what you’re willing to sacrifice. And it changes what you’ll gain as a result. But physical results are not our only purpose for training in community fitness gyms. You also train for the purpose of connecting with others, to motivate and encourage them while they motivate and encourage you. You train together because there’s something special that happens when you do – you discover more of who you are. You discover your purpose.

And that’s important because you were created on purpose. You were distinctly designed by God. You’re no accident! As God designed you, He gave you the freedom to choose for yourself, to decide what ‘s best for you and what isn’t as you navigate this thing called life. There’s not another you in the whole world. You’re one piece of the puzzle known as humanity, and without you the puzzle would be incomplete. Your purpose isn’t based on your personal bests in the gym, your benchmark workout times, or how many abs are visible. It’s found in knowing that you matter to God. And you matter to God because He created you on purpose.

He also created you for a purpose. Your purpose is not what you do. You may be an athlete, a coach, a boss babe, a business owner, or a stay-at-home parent. And all of those are important. But they’re not your purpose. Your purpose stems from who you are, not what you are. You were created to be loving, to be joyful, to be kind, to be peaceful, and to be patient. Certainly not an all-encompassing list, but you see where I’m going. Your character should point people to your Creator and that’s your true purpose in life. Who you are goes with you in every aspect of what you do. So, take time to focus on who you are. Remember, training isn’t just physical, it’s also spiritual. This year don’t just check a bunch of spiritual boxes like praying or reading the Bible. Don’t just go through the motions. Instead, train your spiritual nature. And do it with purpose.

Questions For Reflection:

For what purpose has God specifically designed you? How close are you to living into that purpose?

If faith in Jesus is the start to discovering our true purpose in life, why do you think so many people are hesitant or resistant to do it?