Train Yourself to Be Godly
Here is something I’ve been thinking about for a long, long time: train yourself to be godly.
The Common (Flawed) Assumption About Spiritual Growth
In my early years, I adopted a view of spiritual growth that goes something like this:
- Say a sinner’s prayer
- Jesus comes into your heart
- Grow closer to God over time
- Go to heaven
I can’t argue with steps one and two. Nor could I argue with steps 3 and 4. However, step three is based on a major assumption—that it happens naturally.
In some ways, what I mean by “naturally” is that it happens all by itself because God does it. And in some ways, that is true. However, it’s not the whole truth.
The Facade of “Behaving”
When you are young, Christian or not, it’s relatively easy to maintain your behavior to the level needed for whatever context you find yourself in. For example, in school, a certain level of decorum is expected during a math class—no yelling, no throwing food, etc. You feel pressure from parents, siblings, and people in the church while attending services or living in close proximity to fellow believers.
This “behaving” carries with it a certain appearance of godliness. When you are young, the pressure is very real, and at least for me, I had a great capacity to behave and perform well. However, as I’ve aged, I have slowly lost both my ability and my desire to perform and behave. Maybe it’s a decrease in what we call “filters.” Maybe it’s caring less about what people think. Whatever it is, the veil has been lifted.
Confronting a Lack of Growth
I have not grown closer to God over time—at least not very much, or perhaps not as profoundly as I thought. I’m almost 50. Shouldn’t I have experienced some major growth since deciding to follow Jesus many years ago? So, maybe it doesn’t happen naturally. Maybe what I saw in myself, or thought I saw, wasn’t growth after all.
Not only have I begun to see a deficiency in my own walk with God, but I was beginning to see a real hollowness in the church. In 2020, I was pastoring a small church in Saskatchewan. We were lifeless, stagnant, not growing, and full of what I would call real-world problems—marriage struggles in leadership, pettiness, and a slow, steady falling apart.
What was going on? We were not being transformed. We were not growing naturally. Step three was not happening despite faithful attendance, serving, giving, and hearing great teaching and sermons. Despite summer camps, seminars, and being immersed in church culture, we really hadn’t grown—not as a body and not as individuals. Great music, great books, great people, and yet we hadn’t gained much.
Lessons from Physical Training
Around this time, right after COVID had hit but was tapering off (late 2021), I decided to start seriously lifting weights, running, and training. One of my goals, which I don’t think I’ll actually meet but will get close to, is to lift a total of a thousand pounds between the deadlift, bench press, and back squat. Right now, my total is somewhere around 905. I’ve come a long way for someone who was never really into weightlifting.
The point being: I had a goal, I trained, and I got better—a lot better. When I started, my total was probably somewhere around 400-500 pounds.
So is our growth in faith the same? Most of us would say no. We would say that isn’t how our faith walk works. We would say to train with a goal and with intensity would make us like monks or would move us into what we call (and are very afraid of) “works-based salvation”—religious like a Buddhist or a Muslim earning favor with God through works. It just somehow feels off to us.
The Biblical Mandate: “Train Yourself”
And yet, this is exactly what Paul tells Timothy to do in 1 Timothy 4:7. He says: “Train yourself to be godly.” Let that sink in. Godliness does not happen on its own. It takes time, effort, and strain.
Years ago, I wrote in my journal: “What if I put as much effort into my spiritual training as I do my physical training?” It’s an interesting thought, isn’t it?
A few verses later in that same passage, Paul tells Timothy that as much as physical training is of value (and it is), godliness has even more value for all walks of life.
Why We Resist the Training
So, why are we so resistant? And why is a verse like this not part of our lives? I think the answer is simple: Because it’s hard. It’s really hard. And it also requires that we look inward at ourselves—not judging ourselves by our outward walk, but by what’s going on inside. This is tough work.
The Struggle to Abide
I have been struggling to slowly increase my time with God in the mornings. Not necessarily praying or reading my Bible, but just abiding in God’s presence. I try to imagine myself sitting with Jesus and resting in him—leaning on him, trusting in him. I talk to him, but I hesitate to use the word “prayer”—not because it’s the wrong word, but because prayer has this connotation in my mind of petitioning God for things I need. What I want is a time of conversation, a time of closeness.
I have to tell you, it’s hard. It’s hard to focus. It’s hard to sit still. It’s hard not to pick up my phone. It’s hard not to find other things to do around the house. It’s hard not to just space out and stare into the void. I’ve been at it for months, and I have gained ground, but there’s much more to gain. It’s a slow burn. Connecting to Jesus doesn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen easily. It takes training. I wish I had started this journey with more intention years ago.
The Missing Step: Intentional Effort
So, what’s missing in steps one to four? Well, it’s simple—between steps two and three is exactly what Paul said to Timothy: “Train yourself.” Others might use phrases like “learn to be obedient.” 2 Peter 1:5 says: “Make every effort.” This is very different from letting things happen naturally. It takes work, effort, blood, sweat, and grit. It will not happen on its own.
Facing the Truth: The Need to Train
Life will grind you down. And before long, as you age, you will realize that the things you thought were happening naturally are not. Your inner self does not change on its own. You need to work at it; you need to train. Eventually, the truth of who you are will bubble to the surface. The facade will fail.
So, what do we do when this happens? And I suspect many of us have seen the cracks in what we thought was a transformed heart and mind. We are not as holy or righteous as we think. What do we do when we start to realize this? We need to face the facts. We need to face the fact that God expects you to train. Jesus expects you to follow. Jesus told us the road is narrow. It is not the wide, easy road. It is difficult. It is hard. It will take effort.
But the payout? Godliness. The payout? Step three: You will grow closer to God over time.