by Josh Stevenson
Dear Diary,
Tonight I went to the Chinese buffet for supper. So good! So full! If you don’t leave one of these places feeling like garbage, you didn’t get your money’s worth.
My evening was almost wrecked by my friend though. He only ate one plate of food. One plate. Like, what? Well, I may not be pregnant, but at that point I knew I was eating for two.
And then he only had two scoops of ice cream for dessert. I almost smacked him. The restaurant has more ice cream in the back. They’re not running out of cookie dough and chocolate mint!
Well diary, I’ll have to wish you a good night. I believe there’s still a plate of spaghetti in the fridge. I should go down and inspect it; be a shame for it to go to waste. I wonder if there are any brownies left…
Sincerely,
Secret Glutton
So, that page from Secret Glutton’s diary was a bit silly of course. But if you are anything like me, and 99.99999% of the rest of the population, then you actually enjoy eating food. I think there’s only two people in my life who don’t. They’d rather take their meals as pill form than in the form of a slice of pizza. So I don’t trust them. Because who can trust a man who turns down pizza pie?
Jim Gaffigan said it best, “Of course cops like donuts, ‘cause they know the difference between right and wrong! And not liking donuts is wrong! Have you ever met someone who doesn’t like a donut? You want to know? Because they’re in jail!”
But the sentiment behind Secret Glutton’s diary isn’t that far off from reality either, is it? Food is delicious. Even with inflation, we live in a land of abundance, and many of us are blessed with that abundance in our cupboards, at the grocery store and in restaurants. There is plenty to eat.
So what harm is there in eating until we’re stuffed? Isn’t that the reason my wife got me a ratchet belt? So that it was easier to go up a size?
In the book of Genesis, we’re introduced to twin brothers Esau and Jacob. Genesis 25:27-34 (The New International Version, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011) tells the story like this,
27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)
31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” 33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright.
In true brotherly love, Jacob refused to give to Esau without getting something in return. Because he lacked control over himself and his appetite, Esau traded his birthright as firstborn for a bowl of stew.
A birthright might not mean much to us today, but it was a big deal in that culture. For example, a firstborn son’s birthright meant a double portion of the father’s inheritance.
Esau sacrificed what was most important (his birthright) for temporary satisfaction (stew). He traded the item of greater value for temporary satisfaction. Scripture says that after this little event, he despised his birthright. In other words, Esau regretted his choice.
I know most of us won’t be faced with the choice of keeping our inheritance or trading it for a bowl of stew. But what if fasting was the reversal of Esau’s story? What if it allowed us a chance to regain control of our appetites? What if fasting is about putting off temporary satisfaction for greater reward?
Just in case you are a little unsure what fasting is, it traditionally has meant denying oneself of all or certain food and drink for a specific amount of time. It has been expanded to include denying things other than food. Some worthy substitutions include:
● Cell phones and tablets
● Computers
● Gaming systems
● TV shows and movies
Although fasting has become trendy in the health and lifestyle world, what’s important for the Christian is that it is done for spiritual reasons. There are plenty of reasons for fasting, I’ll highlight three that really resonate with me.
A. To fortify our prayers
Just about anytime we see someone fasting in scripture, we see them praying too. They seem to go hand in hand.
Fasting seems to add strength and weight to our prayer.
Queen Esther and the Jewish people fasted for three days and nights when there was urgency over the fate of their people.
B. To receive power for ministry
The apostle Paul recognized that his strength in ministry was not his strength, but God’s. We who possess the gospel are like clay jars holding great treasure. Our mortal bodies are like jars of clay; limited and fragile. The great treasure is the gospel.
Fasting helps us to stop trusting in our own strength, and start trusting in the Lord’s. We are jars of clay.
Gideon had to pare down his army from 32,000 fighting men to 300, so that Israel would not boast in its own strength, but in God’s.
God honours fasting. He recognizes it as us humbling ourselves before Him and His power. And then He grants His power.
C. To repent of sin
King David committed adultery with Bathsheba. When she got pregnant, he killed her husband Uriah to cover up the pregnancy. Then he took Bathsheba to be his wife.
He thought his sin was covered over and done with. Until the prophet Nathan rebuked him, and told him that the son born to him and Bathsheba was going to die.
The child became ill. David fasts and prays for seven days for God to spare the life of his son. David fasts in repentance, and in calling on God to spare the child’s life.
I find fasting to help my body, mind and spirit to mirror one another. So as the body slows down from lack of food, the mind and spirit do too. It can be a time of stillness and quiet. It is a good time to reflect on myself, and to examine myself honestly.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said,
As soon as a Christian recognizes that he has failed in his service, that his readiness has become feeble, and that he has sinned against another’s life and become guilty of another’s guilt, that all his joy in God has vanished and that his capacity for prayer has quite gone, it is high time for him to launch an assault upon the flesh, and prepare for better service by fasting and prayer.
If you do decide to fast, you may encounter a slightly awkward situation. I am a pastor and have at times visited people while fasting (mistake!). People like to be hospitable and often offer some kind of delicious food. At times I have declined without explaining why, thinking that is the better route to go. Sometimes people take this as an indictment on their cooking. I have found that it is better to kindly decline, and briefly explain that I am fasting. I don’t believe this is a violation of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:16-18,
16 When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
The Pharisees, the ones Jesus called hypocrites, were known for putting on a show. They did not fast for any spiritual reason, but to be praised by others, because it made them look spiritual. For us today, we do need to ensure that our motivation for fasting is honest; that our heart, in one way or another, is seeking to become more aligned with God through the fast. Prayer helps with this a lot. As long as we are doing that, if the situation arises that we have to decline food or an invitation to dinner, there is no shame in explaining that we are fasting.
I do still enjoy my cheeseburgers, pizzas, and tacos. Fasting has helped me to actually develop a healthier appreciation for food. It’s easy to let cravings guide my behavior. I have a tendency to throw self-control to the wayside when eating, and eat to a point where it’s not even enjoyable. Fasting has changed that. I don’t want to keep being controlled by my appetites. It has helped me reclaim greater self-control over food. With greater control over eating, I’m not eating as much, and so the foods that I do indulge in are enjoyed all the more.
Eating is fun. A snack bowl never hurts my chances of having a good time. Yet fasting has reminded me and refreshed me in the truth that there are greater things than ice cream, chips, and ramen. It’s hard to explain if you haven’t tried it, but fasting has the ability to create deep times of prayer with our Lord and Savior. During these times it is easier to draw closer to Him; to pour out our thoughts and heart to Him. I have had those moments, and I would not trade them for my favourite meal.
If I’ve piqued your interest in fasting, but you aren’t ready to dive in until you learn more, then I recommend the book “Prayer and Fasting” by David Roadcup and Michael Eagle. In it they talk about whether fasting is safe for your health, some potential health benefits, different ways to fast, eleven reasons to fast, and how to have a successful time fasting.
I invite you to try discovering the blessing of giving up temporary satisfaction for the greater (heavenly) reward.
P.S. It’s not as scary as you think!
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