vv 7-8. Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”
Training for anything is almost always a tough process. I remember the early days of learning to drive a car; left hand on the steering wheel, right hand waving out the window to indicate a left turn, and the other (!) hand changing gear. How did we manage it! The instructor made us practice, practice, practice … and eventually we got it. That was training. He demonstrated how to do it himself, then he pointed out where we were going wrong, and always encouraged us when we did it well
So how do you think you can ‘ .. train yourself to be godly? I hope you were in a Growth Group where you had a chance to discuss that.
As I see it, training is an intentional activity. Learning goes on all the time, and it is as easy to learn bad habits as it is good ones. Training however is a disciplined, planned process with certain intentional and valuable outcomes. You don’t just come across training, you sign up for it, schedule it in your diary and make sure you engage with it. Then, to make it worthwhile, you have to focus on it and probably engage with others as you do so.
Such training in godliness is a significant element of our life in Christian relationships in the Church.
How serious are you about training to be a better follower of Jesus?