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This post is from the introduction of my new book, 40 Things to Give up for Lent. Available at Amazon.
It is a tradition during the season of Lent for many people to “give something up.” You may practice this tradition yourself. Some examples of the things people give up include chocolate, alcohol, smoking, television, and Facebook. There are many different reasons people give something up. As with many practices, there are some good reasons to do it and then there are some not-so-good reasons to do it.
Reasons Not to Give Something Up
Because it’s tradition
There are many good traditions in the church. Most every tradition is begun for a good reason. But there often comes a time when we lose the connection with the purpose of the tradition and we continue the tradition for the sake of the tradition. If you are not sure what the purpose of the tradition is, then it may be time to stop the tradition or at the least go back and re-examine the origins.
It helps me relate to the suffering of Jesus
Many believe that making a sacrifice will help them better relate to the sufferings of Jesus. But if you think this through, does giving up Facebook for Lent even begin to come close to helping you relate to the suffering Jesus went through? We are totally missing the point. Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice. His suffering was brutal. The idea of giving up 1st world luxuries to help us relate to his suffering is laughable at best and mockery at worst.
To help me feel better about myself
Giving something up for Lent may seem like a good way to kick a bad habit. Lent may be seen as a catalyst for living a healthier and more balanced life. It might serve to help you eat better or make better use of your time. All that is commendable and God wants us to be good stewards of our lives. But this still falls short of the fuller Lenten experience.
So what is the point? Why would I give something up for Lent?
The whole idea behind giving something up is called FASTING. Fasting is a spiritual discipline much like prayer, Bible reading, and worship. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “when you fast …” He didn’t say, “if you fast …” There was an expectation his followers would fast. But it is an often overlooked discipline in the church. And because we don’t often teach about it, there is great misunderstanding about it.
Reasons to Give Something Up
More of God
While the idea of fasting involves taking something away, it is ultimately about more of God. Fasting, in its purest form, involves foregoing food for a certain period of time. This will lead to a hunger in our stomach which has an ultimate purpose of connecting us with our hunger for God. The time you might have spent preparing a meal and eating the meal can now be spent feasting on God’s Word. In other words, spend the time you would have spent eating by reading the Bible and praying. Jesus say’s, “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). We realize our food and everything else we have comes from God. If God did not provide it, we would not have it (see John 6:68–69). We eliminate that which we think we need for that which we truly need.
Removing barriers
Another important aspect of fasting is cutting out that which is hindering our relationship with God. There is nothing more important in this world than our relationship with him. Yet, we allow so many other things to get in the way. Jesus say’s “if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off” (Matthew 5:29–30). The principle applies here in that we eliminate that which separates us from God. There are many things in life we think we cannot do without, but Jesus says only one thing is needful (Matthew 10:41–42).
Re-centering
Finally, fasting has a way of centering us and reminding us what is most important. We have many competing priorities in life. We don’t fast for God’s sake. It is a discipline given to us for our benefit. Fasting points us to what is most important. It helps us to keep the first things first. This is why we see the early church enter a time of fasting prior to making a big decisions (see Acts 13:2–3; 14:23). Fasting helps us better discern God’s priorities for life and ministry.
So how about you? What are some of the reasons you fast or “give something up” during Lent? In this devotional series, we will explore 40 things worth giving up. These are things not only worth giving up during the season of Lent, but are worth giving up for the rest of your life.
Mary Bergstraesser says
I’m curious…is fasting skipping a meal or not eating all day? I periodically skip a meal but never can fast for an entire day. I get a horrible headache, shaky, experience heart arrhythmias, and feel like I could pass out if I don’t eat for 24 hours. I love God very much, read and practice what the Word says daily, and live a humble life helping others whenever I can. I know Jesus isn’t legalistic or law based (rigid) so I feel what I do is enough. Nothing about fasting explains about duration or does it not matter? I bought your book last Lent and plan to reread it this Lent. I enjoyed it immensely. Thank you!
Phil Ressler says
Hi Mary- thanks for the question. If you have never tried fasting, start with just one meal. Drink drink fruit juice and water. After you have done one meal a few times, try two meals.
The thing about fasting is you will experience discomfort. You may experience a headache. Your stomach will tell you to eat. You may need to slow down your pace of activity because of some light headedness. The idea is to let God be our comfort in our discomfort instead of food. A lot of us eat of comfort, not so much because we need to eat.
If there are issues with your heart, you should consult your doctor before fasting. If you are diabetic or have other conditions where fasting would endanger your health, you should refrain. Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to fast. You are right. Jesus does not expect us to fast. Fasting is a spiritual discipline that is available for us, but we are not bound to it. It is one way for us to grow closer to Christ. There are other ways.
But I would encourage fasting for us as Americans. We live in a land of indulgence and the idea of denying ourselves anything is a foreign concept. Jesus says, “Whoever would come after me, must deny himself, and take up his cross.”
In the end, it is for each person to decide. For me, I recognized that my unwillingness to fast does not stem from the fact that I can’t do it, but that I don’t want to do it. It is because food had control over me. In my desire for God to fill me I have to ask the hard question am I willing to let it go and potentially experience some short term discomfort.
Puuls says
Most of this article and the one that led me here was very helpful, however, I was sad about your negativity toward giving up facebook. Maybe you don’t have or use facebook very much, or at all, because for young people it really is a large sacrifice in their daily, hourly, and momentary lives. Last year, my son gave up facebook all during Lent, and he was blessed by significant spiritual growth in the use of his time that was not spent of facebook. No one in thier right mind would compare giving up social media to the sufferings experienced by Christ, but when you think about it, we who live in the First World do have dependencies that we take pleasure in day-to-day, just like the people of Third World of Jesus’ Time took much pleasure in food. For my son, facebook took the place of time for prayer, reading of Holy Scripture, service, and contemplation, just as you talk about in the rest of your articles as being GOOD things to do while fasting. I submit to you that NOTHING a human gives up can “relate to the Suffering of Christ,” not even giving up food. My son personally, and his friends and family were blessed greatly, and I believe Christ honored, by his giving up of facebook. He spent that time in more deeply seeking Our Lord, and in personally relating to persons in a more direct, personal way. After reading your paragraph about giving up facebook as being laughable because it in no way can compare to the Suffering of Christ, I think discourages people, especially the young among us from doing something that !) uses up a significant amount of their time, and 2) distracts them from time with Our Lord, and 3) has them choose the impersonal over the personal. What is laughable about turning those things around? After Lent last year, my son shared with some of the others of us in the family, AND on a public post on facebook, about what giving it up changed in his life and his attitude, about what a blessing it had been to both him and others in his life, and about how giving it up enriched his relationship with Our Lord, and his Prayer, Contemplation, and time in Holy Scripture. If that is the end result, what is laughable about that?
Phil Ressler says
Hi Puuls – I think you misunderstood me. I did not say that giving up Facebook was an unworthy sacrifice. In fact I would encourage people to step aside from Facebook from time to time. I am very active on Facebook, but I know that it can easily distract from the people and events that are right in front of me. The article is not about what we should or should not give up, it is about the motivation behind what we give up. We can give up Facebook for the right reasons and we can give it up for the wrong reasons. We can fast from food for the right reasons and we can fast for the wrong reasons. Facebook was an example I used of something people give up. It is not a commentary on if they should or should not give it up.
Puuls says
^ ^ ^” thEir” ^ ^ ^