Sugar Fast Day 30
Last weekend I went to see a local jazz quartet. They were playing in our local art center. This art center used to be an elementary school; the concert took place in the old gymnasium. Half of the quartet sat up on the stage in front of a very thick, red velvet curtain. Looking at that curtain brought back memories of grade school. I still remember being in a Christmas program in second grade, being on stage and singing “Winter Wonderland”. But looking up on that stage also had me wondering what is behind the curtain?
In Christianity there was a very significant curtain. It hung in the temple separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. It also separated the people from God.
And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. 35 And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side.
(Exodus 26:33–35)
But God had a plan when sending His son to die on the cross for the sins of the people. The curtain was torn in two; God reconciled Himself to us.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
(Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:35)
Behind the Curtain
As I pondered the significance of this event I also likened that curtain to a curtain of sugar. In some ways it is a good metaphor for my battle with everything sweet. The velvet is soft, it feels good and so does eating sugar. The velvet is thick; you can’t easily walk through or around it. So, too, is my sugar addiction. The velvet also does a great job at hiding anything that might be behind it. What, then, is my sugar addiction hiding?
There are many examples in the Bible of idol worship. I don’t tend to connect my love of sugar to an idol, but am I wrong about that? Could my consumption of sugar be an idol? God is very clear in His word what He thinks about idols:
You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God,
Exodus 20:3-6
Idol Worship
If you aren’t familiar with how idol worship went for people, I encourage you to read the Old Testament. In a nutshell, it didn’t usually go well. It also didn’t go well during Jesus’ time on earth or thereafter. Paul often addressed idol worship in his letters. It is difficult to think of idol worship going on in the 21st century, but it is.
So how will I discover what is behind my curtain of sugar? Admitting the truth is the first step. Surrendering my idol(s) is the second. The third step is to walk closely with God and allow Him to change and reveal to me what the curtain is keeping me from. My life is a work in progress and so is yours. To be continued…