The Religious Nerd

This isn’t going to be a particularly popular article. Before you burn me at the stake please finish the entire article and give me a chance to explain myself. I am a participating member of a culture that loves sports, specifically Football. We love our Seahawks here in the Seattle area. Our fans are some of the loudest, most enthusiastic bunch of people in the world (myself included). The 12th man experience is intoxicating. Anyone who has gone to a regular season Seahawks game knows what I’m talking about. The team is doing really well and has a ridiculous amount of young talent and potential. In all likelihood this could end up being a Superbowl season for the Hawks.

Because of this, I can’t think of a better time for a Christian to skip the football season all together.

I know, some of you are thinking “Skip the Seahawks season all together? Who does he think he is? This guy has finally lost it. He’s a complete fool if he thinks I would consider skipping the Seahawks season especially since they are favored to win the Superbowl”. Others are thinking “who cares about the Seahawks, I could skip every season as football means nothing to me”.

Before you click out of the article in disgust I want to explain myself. Everyone has some exciting interest in their life that they obsess about that causes them to lose site of the things that matter most. Whether it be work, sports, money, cars, fishing, relationships, food, drugs, alcohol, social media, etc. You have a weakness that has some sort of negative impact on your life. If it isn’t football, it’s something else. I chose football because that is one of my weaknesses. Given how popular football is in Seattle, it may be a weakness for you too.  Social media has proven to be an addiction for me.  I have skipped 3 months of 2013 and it has been a huge blessing.  I wrote more about social media HERE.

If you only watch a few games a season football isn’t your weakness. However, if you rearrange your life to accommodate the football season, start missing church every Sunday, skip your friends wedding because the game is on, drop hundreds of dollars on football apparel, track the stats on your fantasy football account, play Madden on your Xbox prior to kickoff to get pumped up, spend countless hours reading espn.com and are generally unavailable for anything else while the game is on, football may have become an idol to you.

Remember this verse: “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything.” 1 Corinthians 6:12

There comes a point in time when _____________ (fill in the blank with your weakness) can become an idol that you worship that is detrimental to your spiritual and physical well being. For a lot of Christians in America, football has become an idol for them.  There isn’t anything inherently wrong with football. I’m not saying football is the same thing as drugs and alcohol either, all I’m saying is that if you have an unhealthy addiction to sports/football, it is beneficial for you to fast from it. Fasting isn’t just some silly new age technique that I pulled out of a hat.  Jesus fasted, David fasted, the Apostle Paul fasted.  All throughout the Bible we encounter people who fasted for a variety of reasons. Look at some of these reasons:

Examples of fasting in the Old Testament (sourced HERE)

• Moses fasted 40 days on behalf of Israel’s sin: Deuteronomy 9:9, 18, 25-29; 10:10.
• David fasted and mourned the death of Saul: 2 Samuel 1:12.
• David fasted and mourned the death of Abner: 2 Samuel 3:35.
• David fasted and mourned the death of his child: 2 Samuel 12:16.
• Elijah fasted 40 days after fleeing from Jezebel: 1 Kings 19:7-18.
• Ahab fasted and humbled himself before God: 1 Kings 21:27-29.
• Darius fasted in concern for Daniel: Daniel 6:18-24.
• Daniel fasted on behalf of Judah’s sin while reading Jeremiah’s prophecy: Daniel 9:1-19.
• Daniel fasted regarding a mysterious vision from God: Daniel 10:3-13.
• Esther fasted on behalf of her people: Esther 4:13-16.
• Ezra fasted and wept for the sins of the returning remnant: Ezra 10:6-17.
• Nehemiah fasted and mourned over the broken walls of Jerusalem: Nehemiah 1:4-2:10.
• The people of Ninevah fasted after hearing the message of Jonah: Jonah 3.

Examples of fasting in the New Testament (sourced HERE)

• Anna fasted for the redemption of Jerusalem through the coming Messiah: Luke 2:37.
• Jesus fasted 40 days before his temptation and the beginning of his ministry: Matthew 4:1-11.
• The disciples of John the Baptist fasted: Matthew 9:14-15.
• The elders in Antioch fasted before sending off Paul and Barnabas: Acts 13:1-5.
• Cornelius fasted and sought God’s plan of salvation: Acts 10:30.
• Paul fasted three day fast after his Damascus Road encounter: Acts 9:9.
• Paul fasted 14 days while at sea on a sinking ship: Acts 27:33-34.

While fasting in the bible is usually an act of abstaining from food and drink, it can also be an act where you abstain from things such as football, alcohol, or social media, things that are fundamental elements of your existence. You don’t have to stop eating or drinking to be fasting. Just to be clear, it isn’t fasting if you give up football when you don’t actually care about football in the first place. It is fasting when you give up football when you absolutely love it and can’t live without it.

Before you can fast you have to be able to admit you have a problem. There are so many people in this world who can’t admit they have a problem. “I only drink 2-3 beers” “I don’t watch every game” ” I play less video games than the average gamer” “I’m on Facebook less than Brandon is” “I will quit looking at porn when I get married”. All of that is just a bunch of excuses used to justify behavior that isn’t healthy. Instead of playing the denial game spend some time thinking about your weaknesses and make a conscious decision to change.

But why change? Isn’t life best spent doing the things that you love most whether they be eating, football, sex, etc? In a healthy dose in the right context, sure! But it’s not your weakness if it’s done in a healthy context is it?

Here are 5 reasons why you should start your fast now:

1. To prove to yourself, your family, your friends, and God that you are not a slave to the things that have controlled you for so long.
2. To grow closer to God by avoiding temptations and defeating your sin.
3. To prove to your spouse that he/she is more important to you than some silly football game.
4. To impact real change in the spiritual condition of your local community and nation.
5. To develop a genuine joy and a satisfying hunger for God that can’t be obtained through your earthly weaknesses.

You probably don’t want to fast from the things that bring you joy, but it can be very beneficial to you. If football is your idol make a commitment to attend church every week (even if it means missing a game).  Make a commitment to spend your Sundays with your family instead of spending the entire day at the game.  Make a commitment to turn your TV off and hangout with your wife and kids instead.  Don’t let football and your other weaknesses rule your life any longer.  Skip the season and invest in more important things!  If you aren’t hooked on football skip the fishing, the booze, the video games, the junk food, the whatever it is that is you weakness, and invest your time into something more important!