Pertaining to Push-ups and Prose

Two radically different hobbies with the same Creator

In our current culture, stereotypes abound.

Two of these stereotypes have to do with cranking out push-ups (an active thing) and reading prose (an in-active thing).

First, there are those who love fitness. They may love sports, talking about nutrition, running, or perhaps strength training.

Second, there are those who love to read (or write!) prose. These folks enjoy sitting for long periods of time enthralled in a book, spending hours in a library, or perhaps having long conversations with friends about theology, philosophy, world-building, characters, and so on.

According to the stereotype, these two kinds of people are pretty much opposites: Fit people don’t enjoy reading as much. Readers wrinkle their noses at exercise. Readers read about adventures while fit people go out and live these adventures, etc.

Now obviously, a stereotype is not the same thing as an actual person living an actual life with individual desires and ambitions. But, in many cases, these stereotypes do have a ring of truth. It is true that many readers of prose do not do push-ups and many push-up maniacs do not read prose.

I, Karis Anne, am a Christian who believes that the Bible is the perfect and inerrant word of God. I believe that the principles of Scripture have a bearing on each and every aspect of our lives. This includes the active parts of life…and the inactive parts of life.

My interest in both push-ups and prose imply two different sides of my personality, two extremes of ambition, two radically different hobbies.

But both of these beautiful things that God created can have a place in each one of our lives.

So how do push-ups and prose relate to each other? Well, they have a significant connection because God designed  humans to be spiritual souls within physical bodies. God created both an active and an in-active side to His creation. To live a healthy, God-glorifying life we as Christians must steward our minds and bodies well. After all, we are told in Scripture that we have the “mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16), but also that we are to be the physical hands and feet of Jesus (Matthew 25:34-40).

No matter whether you lean towards prose or push-ups, there is always room to grow. And, more importantly, the God that invented prose and the push-up is the same God who still considers them  uniquely valuable. God created both the mental and physical. He is pleased when we glorify Him in every area of life—from the inactive areas all the way to the active areas. We can glorify Him when we do a set of ten push-ups and we can glorify Him when we finish that amazing 750 page novel.

In conclusion, this is not just a health and fitness blog. It is not just a blog about literature. It is a place where I explore how Christians can glorify God from the way that we move to the way that we think to the way that we live. It is a place where I aspire to write stories and articles of truth, goodness, and beauty that explore and enjoy God’s calling on every aspect of our lives…from push-ups to prose.

This is Pertaining to Push-ups and Prose. I hope you enjoy and are encouraged by it.

Soli Deo Gloria.