The secret to fasting

“No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the LORD will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.”             Isaiah 58: 6-9
 
So often when we talk about fasting, it is framed in the context of self benefit: I am fasting because I want this answer from God, or to show God that I’m serious about x, or as a spiritual strengthening exercise, ‘cause that’s what serious Christians do. Lately, I’ve become convicted that we’ve got the whole fasting thing wrong. Though it’s quite true that fasting can bring you close to God, or give you clarity to hear his heart, fasting should never be selfish. These verses in Isaiah state clearly that the kind of fasting that pleases God is the one in which we sacrifice to benefit another.
 
This doesn’t just apply to fasting, but to any kind of sacrifice. If your sacrifice doesn’t directly benefit another human being, what good is it? Jesus’ sacrificed on my behalf, not just to earn God points. So why do I think just about me when I am considering a sacrifice? I think about only what I will lose, or what I will gain. What would change in me if I saw you in my choice to sacrifice?
 
What if I gave up a meal and gave the money I would have spent to the Christian Aid Center? What if I sacrificed my day off to visit the sick, or pray with a friend? What if I could see sacrifice in its true context, giving up myself for love of another?
 
I think that is the kind of people God wants to make in this world: people that see each other as more important than themselves, who understand that they will have everything they need as they pour out themselves for their neighbors, family, and community. That when we stop taking care of ourselves first, the whole world opens up to beauty and light and healing.
I want to live in that world.