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God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins (Romans 8:3, NLT).
We need a plan to get healthier, lose weight, and increase fitness.
As we develop our plan for wellness and exercise, we come across what experts call the three “Somatotypes.”
“Soma” is the Greek word for “body.” The fitness gurus describe three body types: ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph. We should know our body type to develop the proper fitness and diet regimes.
Ectomorphs are naturally slim. They have cheeseburgers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with peanut M&Ms™ for snacks while gaining no weight.
Endomorphs deal with too much weight. A common problem with endomorphs is that they hate ectomorphs and gain weight on a strict diet of chicken broth and jogging six miles a day.
Mesomorphs are naturally athletic, strong, and solid. They have no friends, as everyone who has tried to lose weight or gain weight hates them. They always look great in anything they wear and have this “fitter than thou” smirk at the beach.
There are also three sin types. “Sarx” is the Greek word for “flesh.” We not only have a body (which needs to be exercised whether ecto, endo, or mesa), but we also deal with the flesh.
Just as our physical body will succumb to a bad diet and no exercise, Paul warns of an even greater danger for not dealing with our “sarx” type.
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6, NASB1995).
Paul writes that our life (both now and in eternity), along with our peace, depends upon our dealing with the flesh.
What are our sin types, and how do we deal with them? They are …
SensualSarx (addictions of pleasure). Pornography, lustful thoughts and actions. It can even manifest in addictions to exercise.
MaterialSarx (desire for possessions). Love of wealth, luxury, and accumulation. A lifestyle of travel or leisure can fall into this category.
PrideSarx (arrogance, control, and power addicted). Anger, revenge, and bitterness are symptoms.
We have a sin type. Every follower of Jesus has sensual, material, or pride temptations, but we tend to falter in one area more than the others.
Unfortunately, there is nothing that we can do about our sarx type.
The good news, though, is that Jesus has already taken care of it …
If you live according to the flesh [sarx] you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body [soma], you will live (Romans 8:13, ESV).
Exercising for the improvement of our “morphs” is hard work, but the victory over “sarx” has been won for us by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Living in the power of the Spirit, we die to the deeds of the body. Interesting that the word “soma” is used along with “sarx” in Romans 8:13.
The point: whatever we are in “soma” or “flesh,” whether we are ecto, endo, mesa, sensual, material, or pride – we all need Jesus! In Jesus, we will get a resurrected body in heaven that won’t be affected by calories.
We can all have that “mesomorph” smirk in heaven.
Hallelujah!