In Philippians 4:8 Paul writes, according to the NIV, “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.”
I am not a theologian, I did not go to seminary…I am a physiologist, I have always been a gym rat, so for you Greek scholars out there, I hope this makes sense, if any of you have something to add to this stuff, I would love to hear it.
According to wikipedia, Paul uses the word ‘arete’ in Phil 4:8 where the English says ‘excellent’. Paul says to think about what is arete. So that is what I have been doing, meditating on arete. It seems that according to the apostle, arete is the sum of whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.
I would assume that thinking about arete, meditating on arete is the first step in pursuing the Journey of Excellence. The old saying “sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character” comes to mind (I hope I got that saying right).
It seems that according to the Greeks, everything has an arete. When a person, an object, an animal is being all they can be, fulfilling their potential, they are said to have arete. I guess this would mean that arete looks different in each person, we have each been given different skills, talents, gifts, and roles.
Luke 2:52 says, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men”, I guess this shows four areas where Jesus pursued arete.
So I am taking Paul literally and trying to understand arete, I am thinking about the word arete. Today this has led to spending a lot of time reading about Herakles (or Hercules) and his mythological heroic life, and what person doesn’t have deep inside some dreams of a heroic life? When Herakles was young he chose a life of struggle and heroism (arete) over the life of comfort and hedonism (kakia).
My time jumping around on wikipedia led to spending time on YouTube watching workouts (I guess I am a spectator), watching ghetto workouts to be inspired for working on the 3rd world fitness stuff for world racers. I then watched Stallone training in Rocky 4.
I am now heading for my workout…pursuing the arete journey.
