Fit for the Kingdom

I follow a very strong priest on Instagram, who posts (among other things) pictures of himself celebrating Holy Mass, blessing workout equipment with holy water, and going hard in the gym. His gym posts are great motivators to get back to the gym when I am feeling tired or lazy. A common phrase in many of his gym posts is the phrase: “Fit for the Kingdom.”

The modern world is dominated by a culture of ever-indulging in all of the delights of the flesh: pornography, gluttony, binge drinking, drug use, and sloth among others. It doesn’t take much effort to notice that we are the most lustful, obese, medicated, and lazy society ever. It is a depressing fact, and spurs many to desire the pursuit of something better.

The gym, to many, feels like an oasis, free from all of these horrible excesses. The gym is a place where talent and virtue can be built: a place where our bodies display the outward signs of interior virtue. Physical size and strength are desirable, and manifest the virtue of fortitude.

The gym is one of the few places left in popular culture where virtue is both discernable and desirable. That is to say, we can infer, by looking at a guy who is big and strong, that he possesses discipline and fortitude.

The gym encourages virtue; however, it is not without its risks. One of the risks is that we gym-goers only seek the virtues that we deem rewarding. Avid gym-goers will know that it is impossible to build an impressive physique just by going through the motions; it requires effort, an effort that is only known to the person applying it. 

We must have a goal in mind when we train, otherwise, we will stop because we dislike uncomfortable things. The goal we are aiming at when we apply this effort by working out is getting stronger, or improving our physique or performance in sports.

But what is motivating us to cultivate virtue when it seems to be of no consequence whether we choose vice or virtue? What is going to call us to virtue, even when it doesn’t seem to matter and no one is watching? What is the point of virtue?

I think all of these questions can be answered by the caption in many of this priest’s Instagram posts. We are called not to strive to be merely fit, rather, to strive to be “Fit for the Kingdom”. 

The muscular Father’s catchphrase teaches us what the reason for being virtuous really is. He teaches us that we should pursue virtue not solely because of the physical benefit we gain in doing so, but out of a love for God, more than just a love for physical well-being, more than just a love for virtue alone.

Most modern people think that what “being a good person” consists of is just doing good things, being nice, smiling at people, etc. the whole while biting your lip. The good person, in their ideation, chooses to be good, but miserable. We must not fall into the same error. We must say: “NO! The good is desirable, and we should strive to desire it!” We should, of course, do good regardless of whether we desire it or not, whether it is easy or hard, etc. But the whole while, we should also strive to actually desire it; it is possible, and we can do it by the grace of God, but only if we strive, not to be fit for the world, but Fit for the Kingdom.