Treadmill Lifestyle

Go to any gym or hotel fitness center and you are guaranteed to see a treadmill.  In some gyms, there are rows and rows of treadmills.  They are a popular choice for those looking for a cardio workout.  I have tried several times getting on treadmills to exercise and have come to the conclusion that I do not like treadmills.  In thinking about why I’m not a big fan of treadmills, I realized that a lot of people’s lives are on treadmills. 

Treadmills provide motion without progress.  No matter how many miles the counter on the treadmill says that you have run, the truth is you are only moved 2-3 feet.  All of that effort just to continually remain in the same place where you start.  Our lives are full of motion.  We go here, there and everywhere.  We run children from this practice to that event.  We are tired when we get home and tired when we wake up.  If asked the question, “Is your life busy?” most people will quickly say “YES!”  But if you were asked, “What progress have you made this year?” then many of us would have to stutter and stammer in search of an answer.  We must not mistake activity for advancement. 

​People on treadmills often occupy their time by listening to music or watching television as they are exercising.  This helps to pass the time, so that thirty minutes of running doesn’t seem like such a chore.  In life, people often distract themselves so that they don’t have to deal with the reality that they are going nowhere.  Whether your distraction is television, social media, or more destructive things like drugs or illicit relationships, the distractions help you avoid your reality.  If you want progress, get off of the treadmill of busyness and pursue the path of purpose.  When you are walking in your purpose, you realize that the distractions are a deterrent to fulfilling your purpose.  “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV).