Harmony works remote, and her company purchased a fitness video series comprised of short 15-minute videos to do on your breaks to unwind. As she was doing one of these videos, the two of us realized how antithetical they were to our Biblical worldview. There is nothing wrong with working out! We love to work out, especially as a family; however, these videos promoted “following your heart” and “emptying your mind” ideas. There are many passages from Scripture that oppose these practices but here are two of my favorites:
“For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.”
Matthew 15:19 NLT
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV
We spoke about those videos the entire evening and shifted to the cultural narrative that you must “follow your heart”. Whether it be Nike’s slogan, “Just Do It”, Burger King’s slogan, “Be Your Way”, or the countless ways media pushes a me-first agenda; the end result is the same: toxicity towards a Christian worldview. This could not be further from the truth. We, as Christians, must remain rooted in the Word of God and ensure that our children are equally rooted. We are told in Deuteronomy to repeat God’s commands to our children again and again.
And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 NLT
We must also as young Christians and especially as parents guard our children against activities such as yoga. Let your child know at a young age that the exercise known as yoga is good; however, the philosophy behind yoga is not the physical exercise. Yoga is practiced in India to become closer to the Hindu concept of God, Brahman. The belief states that everything is God and that reality consists only of the universe and the nature. So, in this belief, there is no distinction between yourself and God.
The next time someone asks one of us to perform some yoga with them, we will be excited to answer, “Yes, I could use more prayer time!” They might not understand, but instead of emptying our minds, we could choose to praise our Heavenly Creator!
“I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.”
Psalms 145:1-3 NLT
Messengers of Mercy 