Running Modestly

Today is Monday and I did not get in a run yesterday like I had wanted. But I was out there today and put in a good 3 miles. The weather couldn't have been better. It was cool and overcast. At first I didn't want to get out there. But I ignored my fleshly urge to be lazy! It ended up being a great run and I found myself reflecting on the issue of modesty.

It is not surprising in light of the fact I addressed over 60 girls at a youth camp last week on this topic. As I ran, I found myself praying for these young hearts to receive what they heard.

Indeed, it is not easy to be modest these days. Everywhere you look, there are images of immodesty. They can be plastered on billboards, seen through various media venues, walking on the sidewalk and even running on the roadside. For instance, yesterday as I was driving in my car, I saw in the distance the faint image of a runner. I always get excited to see a runner doing their thing and unless my kids beat me to it, I shout, "Look everyone, it's a runner!" Yet as I drove closer to the runner, I realized it was a woman who was running in practically what looked like a swim suit! Did I really want to draw the eyes of my young boys to this runner? Well, no, obviously not. So we passed by the runner quietly and silently. I thought for sure someone else would point out the runner, but they didn't. I was relieved.

Christian women who love sports and consider themselves an athlete must remember that modesty issues continue to apply in this context. People notice runners on the side of the road. I like to use it sometimes as a witnessing opportunity and put on one of my favorite Christian T-shirts. If I pass people walking on the side of the road, I pray that God might use the verse on the back of my T-shirt or the image of the cross, or whatever it might be, to draw them to Himself. Who knows, maybe one day in heaven, someone will approach me and tell me that some of the first saving seeds of the Saviour were sown when they saw my Christian T-shirt as I ran passed them. You just never know. And dressing in a modest way as a runner more than likely won't divert their attention away from the verse written on that baggy T your wearing!