I met a couple of pastors for lunch to talk about the direction of their multi-campus church. We chose to meet somewhere central - and I suggested Smoke, the new restaurant on Cherry Street where my brother-in-law Erik Reynolds is the Exec Chef. I'll take any opportunity I can get to enjoy the delectable cooking of my BIL, and to promote this new restaurant! So...as I perused the menu, my mouth began to water...and I caved. Smoked pork tacos please. And they were delicious!
I figured in my mind - this is a "righteous" meeting, right? This is a meeting ordained by God to further the Big "C" church? So surely God won't mind if I cheat a little here today - after all, I need to be gracious to the gentlemen who were paying for my lunch, and I don't want to be like a Pharisee and point out how amazing I am because I am fasting for a whole 21 days! Well, sure, all that has some level of truth. But as I left the restaurant, and I moved through the rest of the day - one thing became very clear,
It wasn't about the fast itself, but about my focus on God.
As I delighted in the succulent, smokey, spicy shredded pork, my focus became about the food and not about God.
Let me be clear - God allows us to enjoy the food that He has blessed us with. But, when we are fasting certain foods, by eating and certainly relishing every bite, it defeats the very purpose of the 21-day commitment to God. Accidentally having cheese on a salad ordered at a restaurant, or not realizing that a certain soup is made with beef stock isn't really a "cheat" in my book - because we are still sticking with the spirit of the fast, even though we may have broken the "law" of the fast.
I have confessed to God and asked for forgiveness (he saw the beauty that was on my plate anyway), and committed to spending more time with him to make up for the focus I lost yesterday. And so now I've confessed to you. Forgive me. Don't think me too weak. And check out Smoke when the fast is over - you won't regret it!
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