The Fundamentals of Fasting III

 Whenever I’m asked if fasting is still something for today, and this is by far the most often asked question when it comes to the practice, my answer is always that Jesus said when and not if. As I’ve reiterated time and again, words matter, they are important, and they mean what they mean, no matter how many people would insist otherwise.

Just as one plus one will always add up to two, no matter how much people might try to redefine certain words, their definition remains stubbornly consistent. Water will always be wet; fire will always be hot, and the word when will always indicate something that will take place at some point in the future.

Matthew 6:16-18, “Moreover, when you fast do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

By what Jesus said, fasting ought to be such an integral part of following after Him that He took it for granted that all who heard His voice practiced fasting regularly. Not only that, but He likewise practiced fasting and even set the bar for what it is to fast.

There is an ongoing debate among scholars because, let’s face it, other than running a lint brush over their tweed blazers and cashing their checks, they don’t have much on their plates as to whether or not Jesus drank water during his forty days in the wilderness. Some say He did because the devil tempted him with food and not water. Others say He did because, on its own, the human body cannot survive without water in the desert for forty days. The short answer is that I don’t know whether or not Jesus had water in the desert, but there is a third possibility that the stuffy shirts don’t seem to be considering, and that is the likely probability that God supernaturally sustained Jesus in that he felt no thirst, but did not take away the hunger natural to man. It’s one of those intellectual rabbit trails that’s interesting to ponder, as long as it doesn’t take away from the underlying reality that, yes, Jesus fasted and did so for forty days.

You’re not Jesus, and neither am I, so if you’ve never fasted before, perhaps start with a day rather than forty, you know, just to get your feet wet and understand what fasting is supposed to accomplish in you. I understand that it’s a great icebreaker and will immediately catapult you to the list of the most spiritual person in your sphere to say you fasted forty days, but if that’s your purpose, you can lie about something that’s not spiritual in nature, like owning seven Porches, and though it’s still a lie and you will incur the consequences of lying, at least you will not fan the flames of God’s wrath even more by bringing Him into the mix. Better still, don’t lie at all! If someone can’t like you for you, and you have to make yourself seem more polished than you are, they’re not worth having in your life anyway.

Jesus expected His followers to fast. It was a given. It wasn’t something He hoped they would do or suggested they would do, but He assumed outright that it would be a practice among them to the point that He told his disciples not to be like the hypocrites when they fasted. If you are fasting, don’t draw attention to yourself. I know that’s a high bar since seeking attention has become the new opium of the people, and if your face isn’t plastered on every social media outlet, every day, all day, then you don’t really exist. Jesus is telling us not to do what is in our nature to do, which is to try and get those around us to see and acknowledge how spiritual, humble, and religious we can pretend to be. Moreover, He insists we should actively strive to do the opposite. Do all you can not to appear to men as though you are fasting.

Wash your face and do the equivalent of anointing your head, which is spraying on some cologne or perfume. Don’t go about pouting as though it were the end of the world, as though you were Sisyphus trying to push a boulder up a hill with each sigh and deep breath.

Fasting is an intimate practice, one that God does not fail to notice and respond to. Jesus does not mince words. He does not intimate that the Father in heaven might see that you fast, but rather, He will see it. It is a certainty and something that God will reward openly if the desire and purpose of your heart are pure.

If there was any confusion on what fasting consisted of or what it meant to fast, Jesus would have clarified it because ignorance is not a state He wants His beloved to be in. Because there was no clarification on the matter because Jesus assumed that all who would hear His words knew what fasting was, what it meant, and how it was to be conducted, we can delve into scripture and see how those of the Old Testament practiced fasting, knowing that the same format carried through into the New Testament, and through the passing of time, to us.

It's one thing to fast; it’s another to consecrate yourself. A fast is a fast. When you wake up in the morning and have breakfast, it literally means breaking a fast. I know we like our chicken and waffles too much to concede the point that biblical fasting is specific to food and water, but it is what it is. I’m sure we’d all rather fast from going to the gym or personal grooming than not eat for a day or three. The problem is that we don’t always get what we want in life, and if we are bondservants of Christ, we must do as He wills.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.