Fasting Reflection

       Over the past five days, I have fasted from video games. I realized that exams are approaching, and that I need to place all my focus into studying for them. My grades are somewhat mediocre at the moment and I need the exams to pull them back up again. From last Wednesday, the 27th of May, I put my PS4 away and deleted the gaming apps on my phone. I usually spend about an hour every day playing various games, in a set period of time at night. But starting on Wednesday, I threw myself into studying, and by the weekend I found that I had covered a lot of material and was ahead in my study schedule. As such, I had extra hours during the weekend to do as I pleased in the time slot I ordinarily use for gaming. 
       As per the instructions, I began using that time for reflection and praying. In particular, I took out the Bible and started reading Timothy. I thought Timothy would be interesting because he was Paul's protege in a sense, and there were two books to cover, so I could get more mileage out of the Bible study. As soon as I began reading, I found myself drawn into Paul's fatherly tone. He seemed genuinely concerned about Timothy: in 1 Timothy 5:23, he advised him to begin drinking wine to cure his various illnesses, and he even calls him "son" in various instances. To me, this affection makes Paul seem more human in a sense, less of a driven prophet and more of a man with concerns and people he cared about. 
     The passage that struck me the most was in 1 Timothy 4:13, which I read on Sunday. It reads, 

"11 Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching."

I felt that this especially applied to me. Although I am young, I should never let anyone talk down to me because of religion. Instead, I should make sure that I am an example to others in more ways than one, and that I am a person who declares their love for God in public. I should have no cause to hide behind closed doors when it comes to my faith, and I can no longer use my youth as an excuse when young men like Timothy were church leaders at that age.

To summarize, taking time to fast from video games these past few days has given me the opportunity to reaffirm my faith and give myself strength in the Spirit, knowing that I am able to do great things despite my young age.