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Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness…
1 Timothy 4:7
Reflect
I have two posters on the wall of my classroom, both picturing boxing champion Muhammad Ali, that I use to try to inspire my students. The first shows the famous photo of Ali standing over Sonny Liston in the first round of their second fight, seemingly daring Liston to get back up so Ali could hit him again. The second shows Ali in a gym, hitting a punching bag.
Everybody wants the first poster. Everybody wants the moment of victory, when the opponent is down and the champion is still standing. But the second poster may be more important, because moments like the first one are built in places like the second.
Ali was complicated, outspoken and, at times, spectacularly arrogant. But one thing about him has always impressed me: the work it took to become Muhammad Ali. He won the heavyweight title from Liston, later had it stripped after refusing induction into the military during the Vietnam War, and eventually won and lost the title two more times before retiring in 1981. By then, he had won 56 fights and lost only five.
What was the key to his success? That second poster on my wall holds the key with this quote:
“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”
Ali’s words reveal a truth that applies to virtually every part of our lives, including our faith. We want victorious faith. We want to stand strong when temptation comes, have wisdom when life gets confusing and know where to turn when everything starts falling apart. But those things usually aren’t developed in the middle of the fight. They’re developed in the gym.
So many Christians never really develop or grow in their walk with Christ because they don’t spend much time on the spiritual punching bag or lifting spiritual weights. Sure, they might go to church on Sunday and listen to a little Christian radio during the week. But Paul tells Timothy to “train yourself for godliness.” Spiritual maturity doesn’t happen accidentally.
That doesn’t mean we earn salvation through effort. Christ has already done the work we could never do for ourselves. Our hope is not in how hard we train but in the living God. Still, grace does not make spiritual discipline unnecessary. Because we belong to Christ, we train. We read. We pray. We worship. We learn to recognize truth. We practice obedience so that when the fight comes, we are better prepared to stand.
Paul wrote, “For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” (1 Timothy 4:10) Notice the order. We don’t toil and strive so that God will save us. We toil and strive because our hope is already set on Him.
Today, spend a little time in God’s Word and in prayer. Lift your hands and your voice in worship to the Lord — unless you’re driving; then just let it be your voice. Hit the bag. Lift the weights. Train yourself for godliness.
The championship moments of faith are usually built long before anybody sees them.
Christ has secured our eternity. Now let’s live the life He has given us like champions for the Lord.
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Reflection copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.
