If there had been treadmills in the days of the apostle Paul, he probably would have used it here as an analogy. In the context of this passage, Paul is reflecting on false religions that are filled with rituals that have no depth of meaning. They are full of activity that goes nowhere. Sometimes life can seem like we are running on a treadmill and going nowhere. In his devotion “Busyness” Chuck Swindoll likens it to running in a “squirrel cage.”