(This part 4 of a 5 part series in January on Holy Habits. Click to read part 1, part 2, and part 3, and part 5)
This is a tempting post to skip over and not read…
Fasting is hard. No one wants to fast! Isn’t that just for monks or something?
I eat a bowl of cereal every night before I go to bed. Enough said.
Of all the spiritual disciplines fasting has to be the most controversial and confusing.
For one, there isn’t much said in the New Testament about fasting. It’s never commanded. I can’t remember the last time I heard a sermon preached on fasting. It’s like fasting was forgotten!
However, Jesus said, “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (Matthew 9:15).
Matthew 6:16-18 is one of the longer teachings on it. Jesus said, 16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
He doesn’t say “if” you fast but “when” you fast. We know He expected it. It’s part of our sanctification and discipleship as followers of Jesus. We need to practice this discipline.
Jesus says there is a right way and a wrong way to fast! The wrong way has no lasting benefit, but the right way leads to a reward from God the Father.
This week’s post will cover the 2 wrong ways to fast that we must avoid. Next week I’ll show you what Christian fasting really is and I’ll answer some common questions related to it. My hope is that this will help clear up the controversy around fasting and make this a holy habit in our lives.
2 Wrong Ways to Fast:
1. Religious fasting
I got introduced to fasting in high school at my Catholic school. It happened when my chicken fried steak stopped showing up on Fridays at the cafeteria. Instead during Lent, there was always fish! Apparently, God was against meat a couple of months of the year.
The rest of us gave up chocolate, soda or Facebook. We probably thought about it for a day or so and then forgot. There was nothing spiritual or Christ-centered about these fasts for me or my friends. It was just religious. It was like putting lights on a Christmas tree. (*FYI, I’m not criticizing ALL fasting during Lent…it of course, could be genuine for people. But the type I experienced was all external and for a show).
The other time I was around fasting was in India. We had a bunch of Muslim friends who celebrated the month of Ramadan. For a month they couldn’t eat from sun up to sundown.
At night everyone would meet up and chow down from 9:00 pm-midnight. It was a giant party.
They all gained weight during that “fast.”
Religious fasting is an outward show. It’s a performance. It’s a lot like the Pharisee who prayed the public prayer or wore the long tassels on his robe so that everyone could see.
God is supposed to be impressed.
He’s not.
Jesus said in the passage above these people have already “received their reward.” They’ve impressed themselves and their friends.
You know you’ve drifted into a religious fast when you hear people start comparing how long it was. They want to know whether it was morning to morning or evening to evening. They’ll ask if it was from food only or just water? Did you have coffee? Juice? Etc.
It’s a holiness competition.
All that arguing is what draws the fast away from Jesus and back towards religious performance. This fast doesn’t honor God. It mostly produces pride, guilt, shame, and comparison. That’s not what God is looking for from us.
2. Diet Fasting
The other type of fasting rut I’ve seen Christians get in I call Diet Fasting. There isn’t really anything spiritual about it. It happens when someone just goes a period of time without eating.
Intermittent fasting has gotten popular lately and supposedly there are all kinds of health benefits. That’s cool if that works. But that isn’t the motivation behind Christian fasting.
I’ve tried to fast several times and ended up just not eating. I didn’t do anything to connect with God that day. I probably stepped on the scale more times than I prayed.
That’s not what God is after in our fasts, either.
Fasting gets some criticism because people are concerned it might be abused by those with weight issues or eating disorders. I get that. If that’s you and you’re struggling, you may need to wait a season to implement fasting into your life. But get help! Don’t abandon something God ordained that is good. Instead, seek to do it well. Talk to someone who leads you spiritually to get some help with how you can fast in a healthy way that honors God.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE:
If you’ve ever tried fasting you’ve probably felt yourself drifting toward the “Religious” or the “Diet” fasts. Some might say to avoid fasting altogether because of those feelings.
I say keep trying!
You aren’t going to be great at this at first. Dallas Willard says, “Fasting is a hard discipline to practice without its consuming all our attention.”
At first, all you will think about is how hungry you are, how long it’s been, and when your fast ends. You’ll want to tell people about it. Brag a little bit. Is that ideal? No. But keep practicing it. The goal is to move past the mere experience to focus on God. Eventually, you will be able to shift the focus off your belly and onto the Lord and greater prayer. Most of us don’t practice fasting enough to get to this level of maturity.
You can’t grow in something by avoiding it. You can’t get better without practicing!
So choose a fast this week!
You’ll learn something! You’ll figure out which of the wrong ways of fasting you lean towards. And you’ll pray and ask God to help you grow in your motivation.
It will be amazing!
Hopefully after learning what to avoid you’ll want to learn what true fasting looks like.
Next week I’ll follow up with what Christian fasting is meant to be and the benefits it can have for our faith and trust in God!
QUESTIONS:
- Which of the two wrong ways to fast do you lean towards?
- What have you learned about yourself or your faith when you’ve tried to fast?
- How would you like to try to practice this habit?
