16"Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
I have a difficult time relating to the concept of fasting. My dictionary defines fasting as abstaining from eating all or certain foods. In Biblical times it seemed like people did ritualistic fasting as part of their relationship with God. Today the only time I hear of someone fasting is if they are going on an hunger strike, trying to get some of their demands met. The closest thing I hear of anyone doing it today for their relationship with God is the yearly giving up something for Lent. And too often that is done with hopes of losing weight or to simply develop better eating habits, more so than to help with a connection with God.
Why fast? How did fasting help in a relationship with God? We don't do ritualistic fasting today for God. Is there something else we do today that accomplishes the same as fasting in Biblical times? I can't say I really understand fasting because I was not raised with it and it is not a part of my culture. But if I really give it some thought I can see a couple of explanations for fasting. First of all, by fasting you deny your physical needs and wants. Fasting combined with prayer demonstrates to you and God that God is the most important thing in your life, even above meeting your most basic need of food. Also, fasting may be a form of purifying. With no food or the restriction of certain foods coming in to your body while your body still eliminates bodily fluids and wastes, this cleansing of the body could symbolize coming to God with a pure heart. Fasting for God is not done to deprive your body of required food, but to prepare your heart for God.
If we don't do ritualistic fasting today, what do we do to demonstrate that God is the most important thing in our lives and to purify our heart? What other self denial do we practice? This may not be as obvious as fasting, but there are still things we do (and sometimes it seems like fasting would be easier). For example, when we deny ourselves of a long morning of sleeping in, but instead get up to go to church, we are denying ourselves. When we give up a chance to do things with friends some evening because we signed up for an evening Bible Study, we deny ourselves. When we commit to being in town every weekend so we can be there to teach Sunday School, we deny ourselves. When we help someone in need though we have some other place we really would rather be, or there is something else that would be a lot more fun to do, we deny ourselves. When we give money to a charity rather than buying more things for ourselves or take extra vacations, we deny ourselves. Just as we keep certain foods from our body in fasting, we purify our heart by keeping certain things from entering our heart. When we turn off a movie that is offensive we purify our hearts. When we leave a group that is trying to do something that we feel God would object to, we purify our hearts. When we know something is more tempting than we could handle so decide not to go anywhere near the temptation, we purify our hearts.
There are many things we do as self denial, only for the love of God. In all these things, we are not to show sadness in what we are giving up. In fact, we shouldn't show any outward appearance that we are giving anything up at all. So don't make a big deal that you can't do these things you denied yourself of, but feel great about these things you do in their stead. You should show an outward appearance of being fulfilled rather than denied. What we deny ourselves of in the name of God is between us and God. The only reward we should seek for doing these things is the reward from God. For we do these things to bring us closer to God, which could only bring joy and happiness.