Fast 40: Practicing the Ancient Spiritual Discipline of LentSample

Some Christians are all dressed up with nowhere to go. Some of us put on the armor of God and then become fascinated by our own reflection in the mirror. But God has not given us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline in order to become spiritual narcissists. He gave us the armor of light to vanquish the works of darkness.

We are not only called to follow; we are called to fight! But who do we fight? We fight who Jesus fought: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Now, when I say “the world,” I do not mean the world as mankind or God’s creation. John 3:16 says that God loves the world—that is, the world as His original creation. What we mean by “the world” is nothing primary but rather all those secondary things that characterize a sinful system that glorifies itself over God, that finds an end in itself rather than in God.

Think of all the things in the world that men live for: pleasure, fame, achievement, riches, approval, power, prestige, pedigree, etc. These things compete for our affection, our love, and our worship. They collectively and forcefully “squeeze you into their own mould,” as Paul says. The world wants to control you—to make you think like it and act like it, all without protest or resistance.

But the Christian is called to fight against that vicious vortex, and we do so by allowing God to “remould our minds.”