“What do Christians mean when they say they are “exercised” about some spiritual matter?”

January 2009 – Grace & Truth Magazine

QUESTION: What do Christians mean when they use the word “exercise” in reference to spiritual matters? Where does this kind of “exercise” appear in the Bible?

ANSWER: Whether it’s chemistry, farming, medicine, politics, music, engineering, or any other field of knowledge, each has its own special vocabulary of technical terms. As time goes on, terms change their meaning, new terms get added, and old terms outlive their usefulness and fade out of the picture. Religious matters are no exception, and as the questioner rightly infers, terms in reference to spiritual matters normally have their origin in the Bible.

The word “exercise” occurs only a few times in the Authorized King James Version of the Bible. It is the translation of several different words in the original Hebrew and Greek text of the Bible. According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, some of these words have a broad range of meaning while others are quite specific. To “exercise authority” or “lordship” or “power” is used several times in the sense of ruling or exerting domination over others. This is still a fairly general use of the term in our language. For the Lord to “exercise loving-kindness” or for wicked men to “exercise robbery” can be understood as an older way of saying that the Lord shows loving-kindness or that wicked men commit robbery.

Getting a little closer to the way some Christians still use the term, we have: David’s expression, “neither do I exercise myself in great matters” (Ps. 131:1 KJV); Solomon’s expression, “this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith” (Eccl. 1:13); Paul’s expression, “herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men” (Acts 24:16); Paul’s expression, “exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7); the expression, “those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. 5:14); and the expression, “unto them which are exercised thereby” (Heb. 12:11).

The New King James Version retains the word exercise in most of these passages, while the New International Version either uses terms like “strive” or “train” or drops these expressions altogether.

Today when Christians – especially older Christians or those who have been brought up in more conservative ways – speak of being exercised about something or being exercised to do something, they generally mean that they are concerned about something or that they have a strong spiritual feeling to do something. In a sense the words exercise or exercised thus become euphemisms; in their minds “I am exercised” is a more spiritual way of expressing their concern or their desire. Using this term would subtly indicate that the feeling or desire they are expressing is more than simply their own feeling or desire – an “exercise” is a humble way of asserting that the thought comes from God.

Just as small children are usually more direct and to the point about how they feel and what they want, so new or younger Christians often lack the “spiritual sophistication” associated with the use of the word “exercise” in spiritual matters. In all likelihood, very few of those who use this expression have ever given thought to its origin or what lies behind it. It is an expression they are accustomed to, one that older Christians tend to use, and one that doesn’t give the impression in their minds that they are attempting to force their will on anyone.

Let’s keep in mind what the apostle Paul, by divine inspiration, wrote to the Corinthians: “Unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken?” (1 Cor. 14:9 NKJV).

Answer by Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.