Fasting is the kale of the spiritual disciplines. Of all the avenues of worship, fasting is the road least traveled. We know that it’s a prescribed means of following Christ in faith, and like the pumpkin carver pushed back in the farthest corner of the drawer, every not-to-often, we begrudgingly pull the discipline out of our spiritual tool belt and give it a shot. And every time I do, I inevitably ask these questions.

Why should I fast? What does it accomplish? When and how often I should do it? What am I supposed to be fasting from and which item will get me the most points with God?

When it comes to fasting, I am afraid that we have incorrectly assembled the bookshelf thinking it was a couch. The shelf breaks when we try to sit on it, and we are left scratching our heads as to what went wrong. What I want to do first is deconstruct (take everything apart), examine all the pieces, and then reconstruct the concept; making sure to put all the pieces in their intended place.