The idea of a person fasting only between regular meals and snacks and calling it spiritual service is ridiculous, but sadly many of us may be serving God in an equally absurd manner. In this last installment of these articles, let’s compare “fasting on a full stomach” to OUTWARD APPEARANCES without INWARD BEING.
Isaiah prophesied to God’s people regarding their fasting practices (Isaiah 58). They wondered why God didn’t “see” or recognize the fasts that they offered as service to Him (vs. 3). The answer came back, “Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers.” The point was that just because they were doing something that was, at times, pleasing to the Lord, He was NOT pleased because they weren’t living for Him. “And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Mark 7:6). Mama always said, “You show your true colors when nobody is looking, or when things don’t go your way.” You are not “righteous” just because you happen to do a few right things in your life (see Matthew 7:21-23).
The Scribes and Pharisees were scolded by Christ for “cleaning the outside of the cup and plate, but inside [being] full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25). It didn’t matter to Jesus if people looked righteous or seemed righteous to others. He cared and cares about the heart. “First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean” (vs. 26). When we read about these misguided scribes and Pharisees, the tendency is for us to overlook our disposition towards the same behavior in our own lives.
How many of us are “fasting on a full stomach?” How many of us are Servants of Christ, only as long as we can continue to do as we please? How many of us go through the motions of obedience (we have the book chapter and verse part down)…but we haven’t submitted to Christ as LORD? How many of us appear to be faithfully serving the God of heaven…but inwardly, our hearts are far from Him?
----Darrell Powell
