My readers under 40 have probably never heard of Jack LaLanne. I know of him mainly from my childhood. His story is the stereotypical 98 pound weakling, bullied most of his childhood, who almost overnight becomes the muscle man that many men dream of being. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger said of him, "This guy is a machine, a real machine." That might have been after 54 year old LaLanne beat 21 year old Schwarzenegger in a push-up and chin-up contest.
LaLanne opened the first fitness club in Oakland, California, long before such things were popular. He had a television exercise show for 34 years. He became a motivational speaker on exercise and nutrition and was called "the Godfather of Fitness." Over the years he performed various feats of strength that almost remind you of the Samson stories. One in particular caught my eye.
Most know of Alcatraz, the prison on an island in San Francisco Bay. The prison was long considered unescapable due to the cold water and strong currents in the bay. But on July 9, 1955, Jack LaLanne made the swim. [I had to blow up a photo of a newspaper clipping to see the date because all I could find in various texts was the month and year.] But this wasn't the only time Jack LaLanne made the swim, just the first. He seemed to need to prove himself again and again. At the age of 60 he again swam from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf, handcuffed, shackled, and pulling a 1000 lb boat, a distance of 1.23 miles.
How did he accomplish these things? He made a religion of it. He woke at 4:00 AM every morning for two hours of exercise. He limited himself to two meals a day which included 10 raw vegetables, 8 egg whites, fruit and brown rice. Period. He said of his diet, "If it tastes good, spit it out."
Not only did he treat his regimen like a religion, he spoke of it like one.
"Billy Graham is for the hereafter. I'm for the here and now."
"Jesus…he was out there helping people, right? Why did he perform those miracles? To call attention to his profession. Why do I do these incredible feats? To call attention to my profession."
Though his theology sounds a bit skewed and comparing himself to Jesus and his feats with miracles smacks of enormous hubris, he did have a point when he sad, "It's not what you do some of the time that counts. It's what you do all the time that counts."
Many of us tend to compartmentalize our Christianity. That can easily lead to the Sunday morning Christian mentality, acting one way in the meetinghouse and another during the week. But it also limits what the Bible calls godly service. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (Rom 12:1). Do I only present my body to God when it sits on a pew? Or do I do it every day as I follow the principles of the New Testament in my home, in my workplace, and in my neighborhood? I am supposed to be a Christian every minute of every day. In this one area, at least, LaLanne was absolutely correct: you are what you do all the time!
And then we have the concept of actually working at Christianity "like a religion," regimenting my time so I can spend it serving, studying, praying, giving myself the spiritual nutrition and exercise to grow into a stronger and better servant of God. What if we made sure we spent no less than 2 hours a day on those things? What did the Hebrew writer say was the problem with those overgrown baby Christians? For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil (Heb 5:12-14). Am I "trained by constant practice", or just a couple hours a week? I can tell you that I never had a successful piano student who would not practice, or who only practiced a few minutes right before his lesson!
Jack LaLanne once said, "I can never die. That would ruin my image." Well, he did die on January 23, 2011. He had pneumonia. He had been sick a week, but refused to see a doctor. He also said, "The most important thing in your life is your health and your body." He was wrong about that one, too. That man needed the Great Physician more than he knew.
Yes, take care of yourself. A Christian who has the traits of self-control and diligence can live a longer and healthier life in service to his God on the average, but if you leave God out of the mix, you are just delaying an existence that is anything but pleasant.
If you put the brethren in mind of these things, you shall be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith, and of the good doctrine which you have followed until now: but refuse profane and old wives' fables. And exercise yourself unto godliness: for bodily exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come (1Tim 4:6-8).
Dene Ward
Quotes taken from the LA Times and QuoteFancy
LaLanne opened the first fitness club in Oakland, California, long before such things were popular. He had a television exercise show for 34 years. He became a motivational speaker on exercise and nutrition and was called "the Godfather of Fitness." Over the years he performed various feats of strength that almost remind you of the Samson stories. One in particular caught my eye.
Most know of Alcatraz, the prison on an island in San Francisco Bay. The prison was long considered unescapable due to the cold water and strong currents in the bay. But on July 9, 1955, Jack LaLanne made the swim. [I had to blow up a photo of a newspaper clipping to see the date because all I could find in various texts was the month and year.] But this wasn't the only time Jack LaLanne made the swim, just the first. He seemed to need to prove himself again and again. At the age of 60 he again swam from Alcatraz to Fisherman's Wharf, handcuffed, shackled, and pulling a 1000 lb boat, a distance of 1.23 miles.
How did he accomplish these things? He made a religion of it. He woke at 4:00 AM every morning for two hours of exercise. He limited himself to two meals a day which included 10 raw vegetables, 8 egg whites, fruit and brown rice. Period. He said of his diet, "If it tastes good, spit it out."
Not only did he treat his regimen like a religion, he spoke of it like one.
"Billy Graham is for the hereafter. I'm for the here and now."
"Jesus…he was out there helping people, right? Why did he perform those miracles? To call attention to his profession. Why do I do these incredible feats? To call attention to my profession."
Though his theology sounds a bit skewed and comparing himself to Jesus and his feats with miracles smacks of enormous hubris, he did have a point when he sad, "It's not what you do some of the time that counts. It's what you do all the time that counts."
Many of us tend to compartmentalize our Christianity. That can easily lead to the Sunday morning Christian mentality, acting one way in the meetinghouse and another during the week. But it also limits what the Bible calls godly service. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (Rom 12:1). Do I only present my body to God when it sits on a pew? Or do I do it every day as I follow the principles of the New Testament in my home, in my workplace, and in my neighborhood? I am supposed to be a Christian every minute of every day. In this one area, at least, LaLanne was absolutely correct: you are what you do all the time!
And then we have the concept of actually working at Christianity "like a religion," regimenting my time so I can spend it serving, studying, praying, giving myself the spiritual nutrition and exercise to grow into a stronger and better servant of God. What if we made sure we spent no less than 2 hours a day on those things? What did the Hebrew writer say was the problem with those overgrown baby Christians? For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil (Heb 5:12-14). Am I "trained by constant practice", or just a couple hours a week? I can tell you that I never had a successful piano student who would not practice, or who only practiced a few minutes right before his lesson!
Jack LaLanne once said, "I can never die. That would ruin my image." Well, he did die on January 23, 2011. He had pneumonia. He had been sick a week, but refused to see a doctor. He also said, "The most important thing in your life is your health and your body." He was wrong about that one, too. That man needed the Great Physician more than he knew.
Yes, take care of yourself. A Christian who has the traits of self-control and diligence can live a longer and healthier life in service to his God on the average, but if you leave God out of the mix, you are just delaying an existence that is anything but pleasant.
If you put the brethren in mind of these things, you shall be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith, and of the good doctrine which you have followed until now: but refuse profane and old wives' fables. And exercise yourself unto godliness: for bodily exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come (1Tim 4:6-8).
Dene Ward
Quotes taken from the LA Times and QuoteFancy
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