"Bodily  exercise  is  profitable  for  a  little."

1.  Two  views  have  been  held  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  words
"bodily  exercise."  Many  refer  it  exclusively  to  those  ascetic
practices  the  excess  of  which  St.  Paul  so  severely  condemns,  such
as  forbidding  to  marry,  and  commanding  to  abstain  from  meats.
If  we  take  that  meaning,  then  we  learn  that  "  bodily  exercise,"  in
the  sense  of  the  discipline  of  the  flesh,  has  its  use  and  its  proper
place  in  every  Christian  life.  We  cannot  do  without  it.  It  is
"profitable — for  a  little."  That  is  to  say,  it  is  useful  within
narrow  limits ;  but  it  is  only  a  means  to  an  end,  a  part  of  a  much
larger  whole ;  the  great  thing  is  "  exercise  unto  godliness."  This
is  undoubtedly  part  of  the  lesson,  but  it  can  hardly  be  the
exclusive  meaning.  To  those  to  whom  St.  Paul  wrote,  the  words
"  bodily  exercise  "  would  convey  just  the  same  meaning  as  they
convey  to  us,  viz.,  that  exercise  which  is  necessary  for  our  bodies,
which  helps  to  develop  our  physical  powers  for  useful  ends.
In  ancient  times  training  of  the  body  formed  a  larger  part
of  general  education.  To  excel  in  the  gymnasium  or  to  win  the
prizes  at  the  games  was  to  some  men  the  highest  ambition.  Such
an  ambition,  St.  Paul  tells  us,  is  excellent  in  its  way.  It  "is
profitable  for  a  little."  It  has  its  use.  But  it  is  not  everything.
