Fasting: too secretive?

You know how Jesus says that we should keep stuff we do (like alms and prayers and fasting) short, sweet and secret? well, i wonder sometimes if we've gotten a little bit "shut down" about all that.

I mean, when i was young in the Lord, I attended a church among which people fasted and prayed often... that is, until a teaching on that passage (matthew 6) arose from the leadership and got us all bound up.

That teaching was, in a nutshell, that if we glory in anything on earth, we lose jewels from our crowns. It was based in large part on an interpretation of Matt. 6 in light of some "prophet" person's "visions" of jewels popping out of hovering spiritual crowns. Anyone know about that? Late eighties?

Sooo... everyone locked it down. Got secret... and that is gooood, except that...

FASTING IS HARD TO HIDE.

I mean, get real. Nobody who fasts for 20 days is going to be able to keep that a secret and be a real, truthful person. sheesh.
I mean, the real church eats together daily. Someone stops eating and the jig is up--they're obviously trying to get better than the rest of us...

then the pathetic insecurities of a worldly-minded past life arise in so far too many of us... self-condemnation arises out of comparison: "Should I be fasting, too?" "I'm just not as good as them" and subtly the Body gets divided...

I believe (personally) that fasting is something that God grants us to enjoy with Him, as His Spirit leads us by the spirit, into the Life, who is Jesus Himself. Think about the way I said that. It's important. it flies in the face of a lot of stuff that would hold you back from...

...not from fasting, but from JESUS, Himself...

yes, fasting is never the question, but whether or not God has loved you today, in the Beloved. Whether one fasts or eats, they do it in the Love of God in Christ Jesus, right?

Oh. not always? How so?
Oh. because a lot of people live by duty-bound slogging and self-measuring? Oh. How disappointing.

Well, let me tell you all this: the reason Jesus died on the cross, among all the other stuff, was so we could have the life that He has. So we could enjoy sonship with Father God like He did, and be led by the Spirit of God. Sheesh. this is so totally what the Bible is totally talking about

all

the

time.

yet our flesh and the devil conspire in this swill of the world to topple us from that sure place, and get our minds all bound up in all kinds of stuff...

So if someone is fasting, RELAX. Look at Jesus! is the spirit telling you, or leading you to fast, or to desire to fast? Does your heart of worship and love for Jesus lead you to want to fast? then pray about it and try it out.

get some practical advice, though... that helps, too... or don't. (but do)

and remember that the text of matthew 6 deals primarliy with the intent of the heart--in order to be seen by men.
you just can't avoid being seen by men. Fasting shows up. go ahead. go 20. go 40. it'll only kill that part of you that you need dead, anyway--as long as it's done in submission to the Spirit of God, initiated by Him.

Not familiar with that kind of thing? You may have some good news ahead of you. Get in touch wth the Spirit of God. Until He says so, don't sweat fasting. It's not commanded. Getting in touch is. Loving is. Forgiving is. Believing/Trusting is...

How many sad souls fast without trusting? without loving? in unforgiveness? and check their box and pin their badges on and go on to worse than oblivion?