Wisbit Archive July 2024

Making Space for God

How come people who pray and read the Bible can still be hurried and agitated? Why do some who serve others want to have their way and can even be pushy? How can people do these good things but they aren’t pleasant to be around? Notice that the above spiritual practices (or disciplines) are limited to ones of only “engagement”—things to do.

Jesus also practiced disciplines of “abstinence,” that is, ways of refraining from doing certain things. These include such things as:

fasting (refraining from eating—perhaps just coffee or chocolate for you!);
taking time to converse and listen to people (simplicity of time: refraining from doing too many activities);
speaking briefly and helpfully (simplicity of speech, not focusing on self);
owning almost nothing (frugality: refraining from owning or shopping for a lot of things);
taking solitary get aways (solitude: experiencing the peace of being alone);
“media fasting” (not drenched in cultural ideas but immersed in the person of God–for us refraining from social media, online activity, or being glued to one’s phone).

Disciplines of “engagement” help us breathe in God’s good life and disciplines of abstinence help us breathe out the pounding messages of culture. A person who constantly inhales but never exhales will die. Without regular practices of abstinence, we become stuck in self-indulgence and self-focus. We rely on slick behaviors and overtalking to get people to do things; we turn to inappropriate sources of satisfaction. We’re unable to experience God’s transforming power because there’s all this stuff in us that needs undoing.

But disciplines of abstinence are much bigger than a self-improvement program. They help us make more space for God and for God’s invitations to love others. Solitude creates space to connect with God one-on-one in a relaxed atmosphere; frugality frees us from having to care for a mountain of possessions. Suddenly we have time to talk to neighbors, call relatives, or follow up a nudge from God to help someone.

In the process, they form character. We learn to cope with not getting what we want– whether it’s a doughnut, a deserved recognition, other people’s compliance with our will, or the status of having the latest technology. Fasting helps us learn to be sweet when we don’t get what we want. Simplicity of speech curbs the desire to impress others as we don’t mention our achievements and eliminate negative remarks about others.

Think about how you felt the last few times you did something that led to twinges of regret: you said or spent too much, you tried too hard to impress someone, you put too much effort into trying to have fun, or you spent too many hours wandering the Internet or watching television because you were bored. That sense of emptiness is what results from neglecting the disciplines of abstinence.

In upcoming wisbits, I’ll highlight individual practices of abstinence that have changed my life. They have made space for a richer, deeper, more caring daily life.
(Adapted from Abundant Simplicity).