When The Tour de France Came To Houston

I've mentioned several times here that I am an avid exercise guy. During a typical week, I'm at my fitness club six of the seven days and often twice per day. It's close to my work and apartment and the staff is wonderful. I alternate lifting and aerobic work on a treadmill. My club also offers specific classes both in the swimming pool and in the workout portion of the facility. One offering that seems to be very popular is a spinning class where the exercisers use stationary Schwinn bikes to get and stay in shape. Most of the folks who I see entering the room they use look to be fit already so my guess is that the sessions are effective. I doubt I will ever be in any sort of group activity. I prefer doing stuff on my own at my own pace and without a running conversation. We all have our quirks.

That brings me to some of the good members in that spinning class, two to be exact. Over the summer, when the club opened later due to COVID, I was doing my routine concurrently as the spinners would come in to begin. Most were/are women and I can't say I know why. There is a leader who really seems to push the group to work hard. Over the course of several weeks,  I got tickled by two of the gentlemen who participate in the cycling. You see, these guys come in for their class dressed like Lance Armstrong riding in the Tour de France, the world's greatest cycling competition. They are obviously not world class athletes who could compete on any high level anymore but they dress like they are. Some people.

And yet, as I think about it, I'm no different. I wear basketball gear even though I don't play anymore. I wear tennis t-shirts even though I only played one year in high school .... and some doubt the validity of that statement. I wear a Ken Griffey, Jr. Seattle Mariners top and I'm not in the MLB. Judging people by their dress is bad; judging people by how they dress when I do the same thing is worse. Most of us probably take the path of it's different when I do it. I'm not going to say anything to those guys; I greatly appreciate anyone who goes to great lengths to stay healthy! In fact, I'm kind of ashamed of myself for the whole thing but I am making a public confession of something that no one else would know about. That's a start, I guess.

James 2 opens with a section about favoritism based on clothing or at least the relative wealth of worshippers based on appearance. It obviously is not concerned with NIKE or adidas apparel but there is a sense to me that the concept is the same; don't make mental rulings based on how others are clothed. I'm not talking about modesty which is a whole different issue and one where few can come to agreement. There is only one article of clothing that should really matter anyway. In Romans 13:14, Paul put it this way:
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ

Doesn't get much plainer than those words! Everything emanates from that. If I am properly outfitted spiritually, what others choose to put on in the morning should not register much on my radar. I should view every human being with eyes lacking any jaundice. But if I see those two guys in the next Tour de France, I'm going to AMAZON and follow in their bicycle path! At the very least, they gave me something to write about!

Applicable quote of the day:

"It’s a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.”
Fausto Coppi (two-time Tour de France winner)

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
E-mail me at shawley@westburychristian.org