If you’ve
been reading the blog, you know that last week I decided to start a
fast from sports talk radio. I noticed how I was beginning to mirror a lot of
the negative aspects of that type of programming, and felt like God was calling
me to take a break.
If you want
to read that whole post from last week, click here: http://reclaimingthefaith.blogspot.com/2016/04/sports-talk-radio-and-jesus.html
So, it’s
been a week now, and I’ve come to realize some interesting truths about myself.
First, I’ve
been experiencing one of the symptoms of withdrawal, intense irritability. That
tells me that sports talk radio had become a bit of an addiction, and I didn’t
even realize it until it was taken away. As long as I had my drug, I could find
a semblance of happiness, but without it, the monster would come out.
What do I
mean by “the monster”? I’m glad you asked.
I was
working my part-time courier gig on Friday morning, driving along the feeder of I-45, when
the monster reared its ugly head. An 80-year-old handicapped grandma was anxiously trying to get off the
freeway, cut across two lanes of traffic and turn on a side street, and ended
up cutting me off in the process. And then, out of the depths of the darkest place
in me…
“M$#&#%
F*$%#*$ grandma!“ Other choice words were included. I blared my horn for about 7
seconds.
Immediately I became overwhelmingly embarrassed by my actions. My dad is close to 80, and I would be appalled at someone treating him the way I just treated that woman. So I texted four different friends of mine in Christian leadership roles to pray for this anger issue. I also brought the issue up at our Sunday gathering and asked the people there to pray for me, which they did right then and there.
Immediately I became overwhelmingly embarrassed by my actions. My dad is close to 80, and I would be appalled at someone treating him the way I just treated that woman. So I texted four different friends of mine in Christian leadership roles to pray for this anger issue. I also brought the issue up at our Sunday gathering and asked the people there to pray for me, which they did right then and there.
I promise I
don’t normally have road rage issues. I don't holler or cuss at people on the
road. I don’t do the one finger wave. But on Friday, something malevolent rose up in me that,
evidently, is usually able to stay buried.
The second
thing I’m learning, therefore, is that my “joy” is not as rooted in Jesus as I
thought it was. There are roots in His grace,
love and indwelling Spirit, but there are competing weeds of worldly, temporal pleasures that masquerade as the real deal. And if it weren’t for the prompting of His Spirit
to fast from that worldly pleasure, I would have never realized this need to
purify my Spiritual garden.
How often do you fast?
In the
Christian culture I grew up in, fasting was not emphasized. As I became an
adult, I heard messages teaching that Christians who fasted were being
pharisaical and legalistic. However, did you know that Jesus actually tells His
disciples to fast (Matthew 6:16-18)? Did you know that fasting was a regular aspect
of church life for the earliest believers (Acts 13:1-3; 14:23)?
Even in the
latter part of the first century and into the second, the early Christians were
accustomed to regularly fasting twice a week. “Do not keep the same fast-days
as the hypocrites. Mondays and Thursdays are their days for fasting, so yours
should be Wednesdays and Fridays.” [The Didache 80-140CE, The Early Christian
Writings, Staniforth, p. 231]
Let me encourage you to put Jesus’ words into
practice. They are life. I’ve done food fasts for a week on several occasions,
but in many ways, this fast has been just as challenging and just as rewarding.
I believe that you too will be immensely blessed as you live out the simple
words of Christ!
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