I don't know how many of you are Christian or celebrate Mardi Gras and Lent, but I had some interesting thoughts this week as I was NOT observing Lent. See the pastor at my church is doing a series on growing closer to God. He was talking about things we can do privately to help with our spiritual growth. One of them is fasting. So he challenged us to fast...from something*. A meal, or a specific food. He even suggested coffee (gasp!) Well, I did take the challenge and gave up a few things and here's what I thought about.
How easy is it to give up something for lent? It's only 40 days, give or take. But do you follow through...all 40 days? Somehow for me, it's easier to give up something when I know it's for God. He see's all, He knows all, "He Knows What You're DOING!" at all times! So, I don't want to disappoint God. But when I want to give up something for myself, it's so much harder. Nearly impossible. I mean, who was I disappointing? Only myself. What commitment was I breaking? Only one that I made for myself. What Goal was I not reaching? One I set for myself. But what are the after effects of me not reaching my goal? Breaking MY commitment? Disappointing MYself? In the end I feel guilty, I feel like a failure, I end up not being able to fit into my smaller pants. And that guilt and failure rub off on those around us. Whether they have to hear us complain about it or we're in a bad mood because of it. Our husbands, wives, kids, friends have to hear us complain about it or the see our disappointment and feel bad that they can't do anything to help. Because ultimately it is MY goal, MY failure, MY disappointment...right?
Well, let me help you see things from a different perspective, a Biblical one. (Please don't hold me to wording things exactly.) The Bible says that we are God's vessels. We are supposed to honor our bodies, treat it as God's holy temple. So, if you think about it, if we are setting goals for ourselves that have to do with our weight, then we are on the right track to treating God's temple the way He wants us to treat it. And really it doesn't matter if it's Lent or New Year's or May 13 (no holiday at all!) glutony is a sin. And if we want to honor God, we must honor ourselves and sometimes that means withholding stuff we want, but really don't need ...we must resist temptation. Sound familiar?
It's hard to see eating and food as sinful because it is a necessity in life. But when we use it to hide from life or comfort ourselves from emotions, then we are sinning because we are supposed to turn to God for those things. He is our creator, He is our comforter, He is our Father or Daddy, as I like to think of it. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what you're struggling with. He knows how you're feeling. And He knows what you're really doing, even if you don't want to admit it to yourself. So think about this the next time you want to GIVE IN to those: french fries, extra bite of yumminess, or 2nd glass of wine or bottle of beer, God is watching you. Don't disappoint Him.
*P.S. The purpose of fasting is to give something up, a meal or a certain food, and replace that behavior with spending time with God praying and reading the Bible. It's not to just make yourself miserable in God's name. The point is to grow in your faith by learning and developing a relationship with your heavenly father. Just wanted to make that clear ;) Happy Early Easter
How easy is it to give up something for lent? It's only 40 days, give or take. But do you follow through...all 40 days? Somehow for me, it's easier to give up something when I know it's for God. He see's all, He knows all, "He Knows What You're DOING!" at all times! So, I don't want to disappoint God. But when I want to give up something for myself, it's so much harder. Nearly impossible. I mean, who was I disappointing? Only myself. What commitment was I breaking? Only one that I made for myself. What Goal was I not reaching? One I set for myself. But what are the after effects of me not reaching my goal? Breaking MY commitment? Disappointing MYself? In the end I feel guilty, I feel like a failure, I end up not being able to fit into my smaller pants. And that guilt and failure rub off on those around us. Whether they have to hear us complain about it or we're in a bad mood because of it. Our husbands, wives, kids, friends have to hear us complain about it or the see our disappointment and feel bad that they can't do anything to help. Because ultimately it is MY goal, MY failure, MY disappointment...right?
Well, let me help you see things from a different perspective, a Biblical one. (Please don't hold me to wording things exactly.) The Bible says that we are God's vessels. We are supposed to honor our bodies, treat it as God's holy temple. So, if you think about it, if we are setting goals for ourselves that have to do with our weight, then we are on the right track to treating God's temple the way He wants us to treat it. And really it doesn't matter if it's Lent or New Year's or May 13 (no holiday at all!) glutony is a sin. And if we want to honor God, we must honor ourselves and sometimes that means withholding stuff we want, but really don't need ...we must resist temptation. Sound familiar?
It's hard to see eating and food as sinful because it is a necessity in life. But when we use it to hide from life or comfort ourselves from emotions, then we are sinning because we are supposed to turn to God for those things. He is our creator, He is our comforter, He is our Father or Daddy, as I like to think of it. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what you're struggling with. He knows how you're feeling. And He knows what you're really doing, even if you don't want to admit it to yourself. So think about this the next time you want to GIVE IN to those: french fries, extra bite of yumminess, or 2nd glass of wine or bottle of beer, God is watching you. Don't disappoint Him.
*P.S. The purpose of fasting is to give something up, a meal or a certain food, and replace that behavior with spending time with God praying and reading the Bible. It's not to just make yourself miserable in God's name. The point is to grow in your faith by learning and developing a relationship with your heavenly father. Just wanted to make that clear ;) Happy Early Easter
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