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Fasting Cleanses Unhealthy Values

When life wanes into the hollow darkness of death, it will not be the parties, victories, trophies or empires we built that will fill our thoughts but the last embrace of the ones we love. One last tear-filled moment to share. When that day comes, each of us will have regrets. The working mother wishing she had spent more time with her daughter. The alcoholic who looks back on wasted years. When you stand before Christ and the events of your life are reviewed, what will you see? Will you be watching a shallow, self-centered person striving for self-gain or the painful sacrifices of a humble servant? As I write this, tears come to my eyes for I look at my own heart. I see how much less I am than what He wants me to be, how often I turn away and chase worldly desires.

It is easy to rationalize sin and self-centeredness because everyone does it. Yet, each of us knows right and wrong. You want what is right, and that is the reason you are reading this book. You are following an earnest hunger for a deeper connection with God and are willing to fast, willing to change, willing to sacrifice, humbled and hungry for more. With this attitude, fasting will be a catalyst to deep change.

To get practical, make a list of what is important, why it is important and what you are doing to reach it. During your fast, spend time studying each entry of importance. Lay it out before God, pray and wait. If you get stuck putting a value on a project, possession or achievement, consider the Apostle Paul’s value system. After one meeting with Christ on a dusty road, His most important values were slashed to zero, tossed in life’s dumpster and the only thing considered valuable and beyond price was knowing Jesus. When you mark the price tags of your life, look a little closer. The stuff thought of as most valuable may be junk before Christ. You do not have to have regrets at the end of your life.


By Tom Coghill of Fasting.ws
Articles  may be copied or reproduced as long as the back links to fasting.ws are intact and the author’s name is included.

Posted on by Tom Coghill

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2 Responses to Fasting Cleanses Unhealthy Values

  1. jenniphd says:

    I agree with this post, in general. One thing I think you should consider, though, is that all working parents, not just mothers, wish they had more time with their children. While it has been a tradition for men to work and women to stay home, I hope at this point in history we understand the importance of both parents in the lives of their children, and that fathers yearn for relationships with their children just as mothers do.

  2. Tom Coghill says:
    Tom Coghill

    One of the reasons I live in third world countries is because there is deeper family unity. People spend more quality time with each other and although they have less than North America, they are clearly far happier. People are willing to stop and chat and get to know you. So refreshing compared to the race to survive attitude so common in North America.

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