To Fast Or Not To Fast Series

I think it’s important to point out, though, that Jesus did not say that your fast is invalid if others find out. He’s talking about your motive for fasting. It’s funny to me that some people have turned this teaching into some superstition on a par with making a birthday wish. You know how it goes…you make a wish, blow out the candles, and as long as you don’t tell anyone what you wished for, your wish will come true. Listen, don’t fast so that others will know. Do what you can to keep it between the two of you. But if others find out, your heart motive is not any less pure.

I was at a Mongolian grill once with three other pastors, one of whom wasn’t eating. Another of the pastors was asking him why he wasn’t eating, wondering if he didn’t have money or wasn’t feeling well. The pastor did not offer that he was fasting and I appreciate this pastor’s effort not to make a big deal out it. What do you suppose he did when I intimated that he was fasting? Did he throw his hands up in the air, say "Crap! (you know, losing his sanctification and everything) Now my fast is ruined!" and grab a plate? Of course not. People finding out that you’re fasting does not nullify the sanctity of your fast. But fasting so that others will be impressed does mean there was no sanctity in it in the first place.

By the way, the birthday wish superstition points out a second reason not to fast. You should not fast because you want your wishes to come true either.

There is plenty of teaching out there that suggests that a person can fast for a few days and get whatever they want from their deep-pocketed god. Fast a few days and ask for a boat, they say, and God will provide. Fast for a few days and you’ll receive money to cover you debts. Fast for a few days and God will give you the job you want. I don’t find this in Scripture. While fasting may make us ready to know God’s will and pray accordingly, it will never be the means to manipulating God into conforming to our will. If you fast as though you are blowing out the candles hoping your wish will come true, you will soon be disappointed in God and disillusioned with the idea of fasting.

A third reason not to fast is if you don’t understand fasting. My daughter Hannah had never fasted before and opted to start with a 40-day fast from sweets during this Lenten period between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Her motivation may have been to impress me, it may have been for better health, but I’m convinced it was also out of a desire to be a devoted follower of Christ. I don’t think, however, that it came out of an understanding of the fast. So as she was offered candy at school or tempted by snacks at home, it became a religious burden to her. My counsel was that she should end her fast, and do so without any sense of shame or condemnation. I’m confident God was pleased at her desire to please him and will teach her to fast in time.

Remember, we are all included in Christ by faith, not by our works. We are called to believe, not to impress upon others the depth of our belief. We don’t compete with one another and we don’t compare ourselves to one another. At least we’re not supposed to. There are several disciplines that allow us to enter into the inner chamber with God. Fasting is one of those opportunities that I believe God wants us to employ. But the worse thing you can do is try to practice it out of some sense of obligation to the church without really understanding what it means. You may only need a little understanding to enter in and once you do it will become more clear, but do it based on the understanding you have, not reluctantly or under compulsion. I want to make it perfectly clear that nobody should feel obligated to fast, even if we are calling for a corporate fast, and especially if fasting is new to you and you don’t understand it.