Keeping Fit

Today in church the pastor spoke about keeping fit. Spiritually and physically.
He compared the two, showing that the way to be healthy physically (eating nourishing food and exercising) is similar to being healthy spiritually (nourishing the spirit and serving God).
The excuses people give for their lack of fitness in both body and spirit are also similar. Too boring, don't know how, too demanding, tiring, and NO TIME.

What struck me was the end of the sermon, when the pastor prayed, he asked that all of us would be willing to work past the difficult stage, to find the reward at the end, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
This made me realize that this pastor doesn't really know how exercise works. And that made me wonder if his understanding of spiritual health is similarly flawed.

I happened to use the same comparison of physical and spiritual health when I was talking to a friend on Friday, who was sharing with me about how she was feeling so tired and drained after serving in church.
I told her, you must be doing something wrong, because it's not supposed to be difficult.

It's just like exercise. If after a workout, you feel discouraged, demotivated, and dreading your next session, you didn't do it right.
You're supposed to feel satisfied, aching and tired for sure, but it's a good burn. And you can't wait for the next time you do it. You're looking forward to that high. And it's rewarding in itself. The reward is not just the fitter body you will get, the reward is that feeling of accomplishment, the biochemical reactions of your body telling you that what you just did was Good.

Serving God is rewarding in itself. It's not boring nor demanding, it is never something you are reluctant to do yet still do because you were coerced into complying. If you feel bad when you do something, it's bad.