Screen time has replaced outdoor time for men
Many men today only talk about the outdoors. They dream about going outside. Perhaps they even spent the better part of their youth in God’s creation. But today men often sit in a cubicle staring at a digital screen. Upon returning home they sit and stare at a television.
As Henry David Thoreau wrote, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” And Robert Frost noted, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
There’s a phrase for what many men have turned into today: couch potato. It’s sad, isn’t it? Men were made for the outdoors … for the open road. For many the closest they ever get to an exciting, outdoor adventure is watching a fishing or hunting video on You Tube. High blood pressure, stress, and heart disease challenge so many men.
Think about the daily adventure the average man faces – he crawls out of bed, he fights morning traffic, and he struggles with software while battling his boss. For the Christian man, the challenge isn’t much different. Mostly it’s an indoor world for modern believers. We sit in a pew and observe the Sunday morning service. If we’re called upon at all, it’s to study a lesson or teach a class. Very few men are ever challenged to go anywhere or do anything.
For evangelical men, sitting inside in meetings is the norm
If men stay with organized evangelicalism for long, they normally end up sitting and soaking. David Murrow penned a surprising best seller when he published “Why Men Hate Going to Church.” He touched a nerve when he explored the elements of American church life that discourage the attendance and engagement of men. Murrow explained why men are the world’s largest unreached people group.
We follow Jesus in all areas of our life: mental, spiritual, and emotional. Why not also the physical. Jesus and his disciples walked everywhere. Walking may be the simplest outdoor activity of them all. You really don’t need any equipment … perhaps good walking shoes, maybe a stick, and probably a water bottle. Clothing depends upon the weather of the moment. But walking is much more than putting one foot in front of the other. Some walk to lose weight and stay fit. How much energy does walking produce? At least four factors jump out at researchers:
Intensity: Walking at a brisk pace burns more calories than walking at a leisurely pace.
Weight: Heavier individuals burn more calories than lighter individuals.
Distance: Walking for longer distances burns more calories.
Terrain: Walking uphill or on uneven terrain burns more calories than walking on flat ground.
So go outside and walk!
According to the Mayo Clinic, a 150-pound person walking at a moderate pace of three miles per hour for 30 minutes can burn approximately 150 calories.
While some walk for health reasons, others walk to clear their thoughts or mull over a current problem with which they are struggling. Husbands and wives sometimes walk to discuss their day or plan their next vacation.
Some walk each morning. Others walk in the evening. And some walk during their lunch hour. Some folks make it a point to walk every day. Others walk once a week … like those who take a Sunday stroll. Still, for others taking a walk is a special occasion. If forced by weather or space, you can always walk indoors on a treadmill. However, there is nothing quite like getting outside to enjoy the sun, the sky, and breeze.
What is the unique aspect of walking? Each of us has our own distinct walk. We are not trying to walk in a specific way … we just do! Have you ever heard someone announce, “Look … he walks just like his father!” Or “I knew that was you, I could spot your walk from a mile away!”
Walking is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible. In Scripture, walking is employed as a metaphor for our way of life … our worldview. It is also used to describe the direction of a person’s life. We can …
Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called.
Walk in obedience to God’s commands.
Walk by faith, not by sight.
Walk by the Spirit, not by the flesh.
Walk in love, as Christ loved us.
Walk as children of light.
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
A prayer to pray: “Father, you know what I am going through in this season of life. Help me to walk with you each day as I trust you more and more. Amen
Questions to Consider:
- When could you work walking into your daily or weekly routine?
- How could your own walk with Jesus Christ become closer?
© Dr. Paul Pettit
This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.
Dr. Paul Pettit is Director of Career Services; Adjunct Professor in Pastoral Ministries, Media Arts and Worship, and Educational Ministries and Leadership at Dallas Theological Seminary.
Resources for Dads
A five-time dad, Dr. Paul Pettit has become a spokesman for the responsible fatherhood movement. Dr. Pettit has founded Dynamic Dads which offers key resources to help Dads succeed in their unique role of fathering. His website provides curriculum for either existing small groups, or for forming a new Dynamic Dads group at your church.
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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom
and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.
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