In my church, people give something up for lent (chocolate, coffee, french fries) or do something we wouldn't ordinarily do, such as helping at a local soup kitchen. I gave up chocolate and I'm involving myself in extra activities at church. But why chocolate? I'm not hungry, as I would be if I went on a "real" fast. I'm not really suffering. (I'm not. I'm not!) And I'm not doing a whole lot of good. I'm not even helping the Girl Scouts out by buying their Samoas and Thin Mints. (Curse their bad timing! Or is this intentional temptation?) I do put a little extra money, the cost of a month's worth of chocolate, in the tithe. That's something, right?
Christians aren't commanded to fast, though the Bible says it's good to do. Jesus' own disciples didn't fast (Luke 5:33) but the book of Acts mentions disciples fasting.
The point of fasting should not be for any worldly gain for myself, so when I "brag" about going a month without chocolate, I'm probably detracting from the intended point of the exercise. I'm not getting any brownie points there. (Mmm... brownies...)
I can't help but dwell on the fact that, compared to this puny act, Jesus' sacrifice was HUUUGE. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 And I'm gently nudged to do a little more... and a little more... to help my own fellow humans.
The reason to fast is to devote time to prayer. So whenever I think about going for a chocolate bar, or a bowl of ice cream, I stop and pray. And I think about chocolate a lot. so... This month I'm praying a lot.
Peace, love, choco... I mean prayer.
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