GYMNOS – Fitness Scenarios For Self-Examination
Gymnos is the Greek origin of our modern-day word Gym. It means “naked.” GYMNOS is a regular feature in Faith & Fitness Magazine to challenge you. In the literal sense, when you are naked in the locker room there is nothing to hide. That makes most people uncomfortable. Use this scenario to get naked spiritually—be honest, transparent, undisguised and willing to be totally open with yourself and others.
Aaron’s Story:I like my gym. There I said it. Before I bought a membership I shopped around to find the place that was just right for me. It is clean, has great music, is not too crowded, is convenient, provides a friendly staff and has just the right equipment. It’s my own sanctuary where I can get away for a while and feel in control.
That was until recently when Stephen joined.
I had never seen anyone terrorize and trash a gym like he could. At first I thought, “Come on, where’s the hidden camera”, I mean everything about his workout was so way off and obnoxious. He selected lightweight settings on the machines and yanked them quickly going from one to the other like a child checking out toys in a store.
His facial expressions while doing curls – Yikes! Seriously? He’d bang weights together and drop them on the floor grunting as if he were some bodybuilder pushing to the max. Then he would just leave them lying there. He would workout for what seemed like forever being totally oblivious to everyone. It was almost comical to watch. I found myself laughing at his pathetic attempt at exercise.
My amusement quickly turned to frustration and then outright anger the longer he was at the gym. I changed my schedule in an attempt to avoid him. But no — it was as if he was always there. I even complained to the gym management. He became a total distraction to me. In my mind I would be yelling at him, “You call that good form? Get a trainer for crying out loud. Do you even know what you’re doing?”
Clearly he didn’t. Thank God, Stephen finally quit coming. The gym returned to normal. Listen, if people want to exercise here they just need to do it right. How hard can that be? He could have watched me if he didn’t know what to do.
Yesterday as I entered the gym I saw Stephen walking down the street. I wasn’t surprised to see that he looked like he was in a lot of pain. It made me think of that Bible verse, “there is a way that seams right unto man, but the end thereof leads to destruction.”
TELL OTHERS WHAT YOU THINK
* All characters in this scenario are fictional. Any similarity to an actual person is coincidental.
