TRAIN yourself to be GODLY

"Have nothing to do with godless myths & old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life & the life to come." 1 Tim 4:7-8

I was reminded of this verse from last night's bible study/discipleship meeting. Often times, we try to be godly, try to be a better Christian, try to pray etc... the list of trying is endless. No wonder our lives can be so trying at times! :D

The verse above says, to "train" ourselves instead. What's the difference between trying & training? I'm no word/English scholar, but... from a layman's point of view, 'trying' has a meaning of setting a certain target, & making an effort to reach it. For eg. I want to run 5km, & I'll try to do it. When I get tired at 2km mark, I decided to stop, cus, I've tried my best, & thats as far as my body allows me to go. I can try again & again, & if I don't reach it, so be it... I tried!

However, achieving a 5km mark is actually "train-able". I may not reach it on my 1st attempt, but if I pace myself, & train towards it, I'll eventually be able to run a 5km, even if it takes my 10 or 100 "tries".

The verse above reminds me, that godliness is "train-able". Just like an athlete who trains, he don't try, but train. So that he can break his personal record, & move on to the next, in order to achieve the goal set b4 him, to win the prize! Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for ALL things, holding PROMISE for both the present (most of us are probably occupied with this ^^) life, & the life to come.

How much more we need to do this!

Growth is probably something that we need to constantly challenge ourselves to. Otherwise, we'll reach a certain level/distance, happy with the progress, remain there, becoming stagnant after a while. If we don't desire growth, & train ourselves in that direction, the current definitely won't bring us there. More likely in the opposite direction!

Quite a word for me. Now, I'll have to "train" myself towards this goal. :)