Six Pack Power

UV 2026/10000 Six Pack Power
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
I Timothy 4 v 12
St Paul wrote that physical exercises are of some value while spiritual exercises that build godliness in us are of infinite value. While we can put a number to measure various parameters of our physical health and fitness, we cannot fully measure our spiritual health and fitness. In the present age, a six pack bod is considered the acme or dream of every person wanting to be fit and seen to be fit. Similarly, we can develop our spiritual health and fitness to be a six pack source of power. The comparison is quite apt for faith is said to be like a muscle. If we use it, it develops. IF we don’t use it, we lose it.

The first pack of power is the Word. We need to read, study, memorise, analyse, meditate and apply the Word in our daily lives. My personal trainer emphasizes the importance of right type and quantity as well as quality of nutrients we need as carbs, proteins, minerals, vitamins and fibre in every meal. He says that fifty per cent is his contribution as a coach who makes us push ourselves beyond our comfort zone while fifty per cent is our own efforts in terms of an exercise regimen, diet and discipline. Similarly, 50 per cent in our developing six pack spiritual power is the work of the Holy Spirit while 50 per cent lies in our regular intake of the Word- the various parts of the Word like the Psalms, the proverbs, the prophets, the gospels, the epistles, the books of history taking the place of the components of food. The promises of the Lord are the protein that builds our faith muscles.
The other spiritual packs of power in our lives are prayer, praise and worship. We need to discipline our lives and our tongues so that our thoughts, words and conduct are pleasing to the Lord. We need to do what we read, studied, meditated and understood in the Word. The application of at least one thing that we learnt from the Word is a great way to build spiritual muscle mass. It extends the borders or boundaries of our faith and deepens our relationship with the Lord. We need to keep cutting the flab or whatever is in excess or unwanted in our lives or submit ourselves to the process of purification and refinement of our whole being. Our heart has to be purified in terms of motives and desires. Our priority should be the work , the word and the will of the Lord. Our eyes and senses need to be purified of the basic lusts. Our thought process should be purified so that we follow after righteousness and flee from all lustful thoughts and desires. It is said that if we are in love with the process, the results will follow. If we do all these things passionately, consistently and with increasing determination and discipline, the result would be spiritual health, vigour and fitness which is far more valuable than physical health and fitness.

Prateep V Philip