Of course these should be part of a Christian's life all year, not just in Lent. Here the idea is to do them more intensively during Lent.
The writers say that even more important than fasting from food is fasting from sin. But beyond that, the specifics of the fast one undertakes can vary. Here is where the familiar idea of "giving up" something for Lent comes from. We can fast from food in general, or from particular kinds of food or from eating at certain times (such as between meals). We can also fast from activities we enjoy.
One value of something like that is the practice it gives us in self- discipline. If we can subject our desires to our will, even with regard to innocent activities, then we should find it a little easier to refrain from wrongful things as well. Another value is that whatever money we save can then become part of our almsgiving.
I wish all who observe a good season. May you arrive at Easter with nothing hindering your spirit from a joyous celebration of of the Resurrection.
I was very sleepy last evening as I wrote this and this morning I saw that there was a spot that was nonsensical. I've corrected it to say what I meant.
6 comments:
and what if you dont give up anything. im a believer i just dont beleive in all stuff that goes along with the bible.
Do what you think you should do.
If you don't think God is calling on you to give anything up, then you don't give anything up.
Anyway, from what I've read on your blog it looks as is you should be eating, not fasting.
;)
Hello Naturgesetz,
I'm sorry for the somewhat belated comment. I noticed a while ago that you decided to Follow my blog (thanks!) and I've been meaning to say "Hi!" for a couple of days now. So: Hi! :D
I guess I just didn't know what to say. I'm not religious, not at all, so most parts of your blog are rather hard to read through (no offense). I'll try to keep up, but I may not comment as often as you would like me to. I blame my lack of religious knowledge for that. :$
I'll try though. I really will. :)
Anyway, thank you for your comments. Really appreciate them.
Take care,
Tee
Hello Tee.
Thanks for checking out my blog. Don't feel you have to slog through everything. If you take a peek when I post something, read it if it interests you, and comment if you feel like it, that's all I could hope for from anyone. And if a post just doesn't interest you, it's fine if you just skip it.
You write great little stories, and I hope people who learn about you from reading this will check out your blog.
From time to time there have been prayer-and-fast days at my church, but I have only ever gone once, and I remember wolfing down some heavy food at the end of the day.
I am thinking that I need to have another go though.
Over at the other guy;s blog you talked about practicing exercising willpower, and that really got my attention, because I could do with that in order to grow in my Christian walk.
How do you fast for Lent?
I am thinking of fasting at regular times every month or every three months or whatever.
Apart from that I might even do Lent myself. I can only benefit from taking time to fast and pray every year.
I'm refraining from eating between meals, and I'm not eating meat on Fridays. The latter is a church regulation (which we can dispense with for a serious reason); the former is my own decision.
If it were something I were doing monthly or once every three months, I might try something more stringent, like having only bread and water for the whole day. But it's difficult to do that sort of thing if you're living in a family with set expectations for each mealtime. You might have to admit/announce that you are fasting, rather than trying to slip it past them.
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