When You Fast . . .

Mike Hosey, An Elder

There is a lot of expectation bound up in the word "when."  If I say to my daughter, "Emily, when you get through with your chores in the kitchen I want you to walk the dogs,"  I am communicating to her that I expect her to wash the dishes at some point before she walks the dogs.  If I say to my son, Joshua, "Son, when you talk to me tonight, I want you to tell me about your day at school,"  I am communicating that I expect him to have some kind of verbal interchange with me later in the evening.

That same level of expectation is found in passages we have been studying for the past two weeks.  Jesus introduces us to the Lord's prayer by saying "when you pray . . ." (Matthew 6:7). In using the word "when," He is telling us that He expects prayer to be a normal part of life.  Later in the same passage, He introduces us to the idea of fasting. In that introduction,  He says, "when you fast . . . " (Matthew 6:16).  By using that word "when,"  He is communicating to us that He expects fasting to be a normal part of life.  And just like the rest of the passage, He expects all fasting to be genuine and not for show.  He expects it to have real significance, and not to be self-elevating.

Why would Jesus expect us to incorporate something as difficult as fasting into our lives?  Well, here are a few possibilities:

It Strengthens Self Control - Self Control is a huge thing in the Bible, and an expectation God has of us (Proverbs 25:28, Galatians 5:22-23, 2 Peter 1:5-7, 1Corinthians 9:24-27).  When we fast, we are exercising self control over a very natural part of our body. Interestingly, behavioral science has established that when we discipline ourselves in one area of our lives, it makes it easier for us to discipline ourselves in other areas.  If you have control over your stomach, then you can have control over your libido, your alcohol consumption, your tongue and a whole host of other difficult things.

It Highlights Our Seriousness - When we place our bodies in submission, it highlights our seriousness for communion with God.  Think about it, which shows more love, providing your spouse with a gift that costs you little or nothing, or one that costs personal sacrifice and a bit of pain.

It Breaks The Chains of Bondage and Evil - Isaiah 58:6 tells us that the fast God chooses is the one that looses the bonds of wickedness, and that breaks every yoke. If you struggle with any yoke and any bondage, then proper fasting can help you focus your prayers, and to commune with God in an effort to bring about freedom.

Of course, there are many more reasons than this post has space or time to explore, but for whatever reason you choose to fast, reflect on the idea that it is expected, and that it is to be genuine.

Everyone's Got That One Fake Friend

Mike Hosey, An Elder

Everyone has got that one "friend." They tell you what they think you want to hear. They yes, yes, yes you. If they think they can benefit from being seen with you, then they will be seen with you only at the most opportune times, so that others will think the two of you have some kind of important relationship. But really, they're not interested in you. Their motives are ulterior. (To define that word, read about it here, and listen to Nelson here.)

Some people seem to just waller in their fakeness. Have you ever met The Name Dropper? “Oh I know so and so!” (But not really) Or, “I went to school with Mr. or Ms. Important.” (But they've never actually met Mr. or Mrs. Important) Name droppers can be kind of repulsive.  That's because they're fake.

Fakeness is not good. Just imagine how icky it would be if your spouse, or anyone who has an actual relationship with you, faked communication exchanges with you. Your relationship wouldn't be good for very long. No one likes fakeness – especially not God. In fact, the bible tells us that he hates a false weight (Proverbs 11:1, Leviticus 19:35-36). It also teaches us that he hates dishonesty (Leviticus 19:11). He expects us to worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

And since prayer is a highly intimate discipline of individual worship, He expects it to be very truthful. He doesn't want it to be for show; He wants it to be genuine (Matthew 6:5-15). So serious is He about it, that He gives us a model to follow in Matthew 6:9-13. He's not asking us to recite this model as if it's a magical incantation. Instead, He wants our prayers to conform to its principles. In that model, He teaches us to honor His name as holy. When we truly do that, our perspective begins to line up. He then teaches us to pray for His will and not our own. Unfortunately, too many teachers proclaim the exact opposite.  The truth is, however, that His will is always better for us than our own. He teaches us to depend on him regularly -- even daily. Your physical body cannot go day to day without physical food and be healthy. In the same way, neither can your spiritual relationship with Him. He reminds us that He has forgiven us, and instructs us to follow His example. Finally, He reminds us that He is the guide on our journey, and our rescuer from trouble.

So don't be God's fake friend. Talk to Him honestly and with genuine heart, as if you loved Him like a father and a true friend! 

Guarding Against Ulterior Motives

Mike Hosey, An Elder

We live in a world of invisible things. You can't see the atoms that make up the air you breath, nor the molecules that comprise the skin on the back of your hand. Every second of the day, you are bathed in radiation falling down from space, or are pelted by microbes, viruses, or other ickys from a thousand unknown places. And you can't see any of it. Obviously, some of that stuff is beneficial, while some of it is downright deadly.

But perhaps the most deadly things are not those things that are invisible to us, but those things that are hidden from us with ulterior motives. Ulterior means “existing beyond what is obvious or admitted; intentionally hidden.” So a person who approaches you with an ulterior motive is someone who is projecting a false motive in order to fulfill a secret motive. With that person, what you see is NOT what you get.

This is the case with the hypocrites that Jesus admonishes in Matthew 6:1-2. He tells his disciples that when they practice their righteousness by giving to the needy, not to be like those hypocrites and do it before men, or draw attention to it. Instead, he tells them to do it in private. His reasoning is found one chapter prior. In Matthew 5:20, he tells them that if they want to get into Heaven, then their righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the hypocritical pharisees. In other words, he wanted his disciples to practice their righteousness, and their giving to the needy, from a genuine heart to serve, and not out of an ulterior motive to raise their status with other men. If we practice our righteousness in secret, then our motive to gain the praises of men is quashed because there is no possibility of payoff; our heart is more likely to be genuine, God-centered, and not the fake righteousness of the hypocrites.

Jesus teaches us something else in that passage. He teaches us that the reward the hypocrites get for their fake righteousness is the paltry, temporary praise of men, and that the reward that the disciples will get for a genuine heart is a reward from the invisible ruler of all the universe who has the ability to test the hearts of all men (Matthew 6:4, Jeremiah 17:10, Hebrews 4:13). 

How To Free Yourself From Bondage

Mike Hosey, An Elder

In my secular job as a mental health counselor, I have the opportunity to work with many people who are enslaved to things that are harmful to them. In fact, many of them are quite literally in bondage. The standard dictionary definition of that word means to be restrained by way of being tied or chained up and placed under some kind of external control.

The most common restraint I see placed on them is the bondage of nicotine. Sometimes they can't even sit through a whole class without answering the call of their god (little g). As they leave my class (very often during the best part of the discussion) I often gently remind them of their situation by asking, “are you answering the call of your slave master?” Sometimes they chuckle and answer yes. Other times, they can become a bit offended by it. Either way, the truth of their bondage is evident for all to see. Even when they are engaged, it is difficult for them to sit and continue in the discussion.

In Galatians, Paul saw this with those Christians who were beginning to depend on law to make themselves right with God, rather than faith and a relationship with the one true God. They had already been rescued from their slavery to false gods (Galatians 4:8), and were returning to a potential form of idol worship and bondage in the form of legalism (Galatians 4:10). Paul was stunned! He wondered how they could return to such slavery after having been freed and obtaining a relationship with God (Galatians 4:9). In fact, where they once were not "known" by God, they now were.

And that's ultimately how we get out of bondage. We have a genuine relationship with God. We allow Him to know us. We love others and therefore prove that we are known by God (1 Corinthians 8:3). One of the best ways to have a genuine relationship with God is to have a genuine relationship with those people that He knows, and who love Him. In other words, spend time with God by spending time with His people. They are, after all, His body on earth (1 Corinthians 12:27). And they can with love and kindness help to keep you accountable – and to stay free to serve Him with all that you have!