So a vital lesson can be learned: Productive work, family, and especially worship of God should properly take priority. The Bible is correct when it says: “Bodily training [which sports provide] is beneficial for a little.” (1 Timothy 4:8) That indicates the proper place for sports in our lives. It should be a secondary one. Since sports can be so fascinating, a person must be ever vigilant that more important things are not neglected.

How Sports Are Beneficial

As we have noted, the Bible says that physical training, such as that realized in sports, “is beneficial for a little.” (1 Timothy 4:8) In what ways is this so? How might you benefit from sports?

The second-century Greek physician Galen, personal physician to Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, stressed the importance of exercise for general health. And he recommended ball games, since these exercise the whole body in a natural way. Ball games are also usually fun to play, so a person will be more likely to play these games he enjoys than to engage in other forms of exercise.

Many find that the exercise derived from sports gives them a sense of well-being. After a stimulating workout or game, they feel rejuvenated and refreshed. Yet this should not be surprising, since, as Dr. Dorothy Harris says, “exercise is nature’s best tranquilizer.”

Physical exercise, such as that furnished by calisthenics, jogging, and games, is generally recognized today as being important to good health. “Physically fit people perform their usual tasks easily without tiring and still have energy for other interests,” The World Book Encyclopedia notes. “They also may be able to resist the effects of aging better than those who are physically unfit.”

Regardless, however, of how physically fit sports may assist a person to become, the benefit is limited. Aging and death cannot be thwarted by human efforts. Yet, after saying that “bodily training is beneficial for a little,” the Bible states: “Godly devotion is beneficial for all things, as it holds promise of the life now and that which is to come.”​—1 Timothy 4:8.

Only Jehovah God, our Creator, can give us life. Nothing, therefore, is more important than “godly devotion,” that is, reverence, worship, and service to God. So those practicing godly devotion will have as their priority doing God’s will. They will expend themselves in God’s service, using their youth as Jesus Christ did, telling others of the good things about God and his Kingdom.

Yes, by putting God’s interests first, humans can win his favor and attain life forever in his righteous new world. There the happy God, Jehovah, will give them true and lasting happiness and contentment.