Robin said:
Self discipline is vital and wonderful when applied wisely to make one's life a living sacrifice. But it can also become a tool of self-deception, a means to prideful self-righteousness, or a superstitious attempt to gain God's favor if it's misapplied.
In my charismatic days i went in for fasting in a big way.
Yeah, yeah, it was in part to develop self-discipline - but if i was to be honest with myself, it was really mostly about cementing my position in the elite. Like Robin said - a means to prideful self-righteousness. Even if i did it in secret,
i knew that i was fasting two out of every three days (or whatever) - so despite the leg-up it gave me on self-discipline, i couldn't help but be prideful about how much more 'spritually dedicated' i was than all those low-class christians who would whine about skipping one meal.
Maybe i'm being a bit hard on myself [because of the scorn with which i now view my charismatic glory days], but if i am it's not by much.
Now i'm sure there ARE valid ways in which fasting can be used biblically, but becuase of my own past abuses in this area it's not something i'm likely to be doing again. (In part because of a medical condition of mysterious origin {possibly brought on by my extreme fasting?} that won't allow me to fast anymore - at least not in that total way that i was used to).
- M.
