When we talk about a student’s education, we’re usually referring to his mind. Students go to school to learn what is true, and to develop their thinking and reasoning skills. And when we talk about education at Mount Hope, we’re also referring to the soul. Students come to our school to hear God’s Word in chapel, apply biblical doctrine in their classes, sing beautiful hymns, and be surrounded by Christian friends in a godly culture. This is wonderful. What we don’t talk about as much, though, is the education of the body. Just like their minds and souls, students’ physical bodies need education (or “gymnastic,” to use the fancy classical term). It’s true that parents may not need as much assistance on the Phys. Ed. front as they do in teaching things like algebra, choir, or history lessons. Still, educating the body through exercise should not be neglected, and it’s an organic part of each day at Mount Hope. Students have regular gym class, plenty of daily recess time, and after-school activities like English country dancing and sports leagues. Football games, snowball fights, and kids just galavanting around the field are common sights to see, and they’re quite important even though they’re not written in our curriculum! Let’s first consider why exercise is so important (for students and for everyone). Then we’ll consider why playing sports is actually a great way to get the benefits of physical education.
For a Christian, the most obvious reason to exercise is because it takes care of God’s gifts to us. Body and health are blessings from Him. It is poor stewardship to neglect or abuse them, just as it’s poor stewardship to or litter on the mountain or spend money carelessly. Of course, exercising the body is of much more consequence than watering our house plants. Not only are we made in the image of God and far more valuable than any earthly thing we possess, but our bodies also affect our souls. We can’t separate them, at least not without dying! There are plenty of ways that physical exercise affects the non-physical. We learn better when our bodies are active and healthy. Plus, the discipline required to exercise carries over into other habits, such as studying diligently or reading Scripture faithfully. Physical rigor helps train the flesh to be told what to do, keeping its passions in check and building virtues of temperance and self-control. Exercise also simply makes us feel good. And this greatly aids our new man’s desire to show love and kindness to others—because frankly, it’s easier to be nice when you’re feeling good!
All that being said, exercise isn’t just utilitarian, as a means to various ends. Our bodies weren’t afterthoughts on God’s part, but are good in themselves. Exercise uses the body (the muscles in your arm, the capacity in your lungs, or whatever it is) to do things God made it to do. When you go for a jog, whack a tennis ball, or do everyday physical labor at home, you’re engaging an ability God saw fit to give you. This is the same pleasure as realizing God made the stars for us to gaze at and enjoy, or a delicious meal to savor. He gave us bodies to do things like take an evening walk or dive into a lake. Exercise, in other words, is a happy end in itself: humans doing what God gave us the capacity to do. (I might add that the delight of exercise is compounded when done outside. We then enjoy being God’s creation in His creation!)
A primary way many of our students get their exercise is by playing sports. It goes without saying that in American culture today, sports have become a vicious idol, whether that means obsessing over NFL superstars or skipping church for a soccer tournament. But just because a good thing has been idolized by so many doesn’t mean that we should despise the good thing. Sports are an excellent way for students to get a physical education—that is, beneficial, human-nurturing, virtue-building exercise—for several reasons.
First, sports build true camaraderie through shared physical experience. Simply put, playing sports with other people is doing something real together! We are physical beings, and doing something physical with our neighbors is much more natural and significant than an activity without physical interaction, like online gaming or watching a movie. It’s interesting that the physical nature of sports seems to manifest different benefits for boys and for girls. For boys, physical competition clearly sorts out who’s top dog and who’s not, while at the same time providing a universal brotherliness that inevitably comes with racing, shoving, and tackling one another. In sports, there is also a manly standard of agreement to rules and disinterested justice, to which even the best players must willingly submit. For girls, on the other hand, the physical nature of sports provides a sense of unity, accomplishment, and camaraderie that is very concrete. Passing a ball, executing a play, and even giving a high-five are flesh-and-blood manifestations of togetherness. This is perhaps why girls are often more interested in chatting and laughing together than really practicing and playing competitively. Of course, girls can be competitive, without a doubt—but they’re usually a bit less civil about it than boys!
Second, as an outlet for competition, sports are a great tutor for growth in virtue. Winners learn to have pride without arrogance, and that hard work bears satisfying fruit. Losers learn resilience, self-control, and how to admit defeat graciously. Teammates learn to deal with one another’s faults and work together toward a common goal. And everyone, winner or loser, learns how to keep a game in perspective!
Finally, sports make exercise fun, as it should be. The grit of training is important, but sports should not be so intense that they are all work and no play. They should also not be overly-organized by adults who are more invested than the players themselves. Instead, sports should be kept as a natural, lively way for students to care for their bodies, build their character, use their abilities, and have fun with one another—in short, a way to enjoy an abundance of God’s gifts to us in this world.
In Christ,
Miss Hahn
