When I was in college, two Bible professors mentioned to their students that they fasted regularly. (I think it was weekly) One of my other professors criticized the two, claiming that they were violating Jesus’ instructions from Matthew 6 about not showing other men that you are fasting.
Are you kidding me?
I think that’s been one of the problems we’ve had with fasting: those who practice it are shamed into not sharing their experiences with others. Sure, I agree that no one should show off when fasting. But we need to be able to talk about it, to teach about it. I think we can even encourage others to join us in fasting; I doubt that the community fasts in Acts 13 and 14 happened by coincidence.
We can talk about how much we read our Bibles and how often we pray. Each of those needs to be done in a way that isn’t self-aggrandizing nor ostentatious, but we allow them to be done. In the same way, we need to share with one another our experiences with fasting: how we do it, the benefits we’ve found, etc. When we restore fasting to its rightful place in the church, people won’t seem holier-than-thou when talking about a common spiritual discipline.
{photo by Sophie on sxc.hu}
I agree in some ways. If it is a topic of discussion or something someone has questions about or a topic in the classroom, then of course you need to talk about it. And preplanned fasts among groups need to be spoken openly about, as well.
However, if someone is constantly bringing up their own fasting and trying to guilt or push others into it than I think it could be blurring the line of boasting about it.
Jessica,
Welcome to the Kitchen. You make a very good point. As I tried to state, the same can be said about other spiritual disciplines, like prayer or Bible reading. Hearing someone I know talk about losing weight through dieting and exercise can stimulate me to do the same, unless they do it in a boastful way.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
Yep, I believe it is all about righteous boasting
Tim, I fast. I let people know that I fast…they may not know when but many know that I do. I try and encourage others to do the same. I think fasting and prayer go hand in hand and they open our spirituality up. I like this series you are doing.
Thanks, Laymond. And Bobby, I think that’s what we need: Christians willing to open up their lives as an example (we ought to be open enough to show all of it, the good and the bad).
Grace and peace,
Tim
Tim and others, you may be interested in this: http://www.soulgardeners.com/2009/05/scot-mcknight-fasting-session-3.html
Scot McKnight on fasting.