As most of you know 30 days ago I took the Nazarite Vow and dedicated the time in special service to God. There were a number of restrictions, especially dietary ones, which caused some of my friends to ask, “Why are you doing this?” A good question that deserves a good answer. Here is that answer. I found that by living differently I had to live more thoughtfully. Thinking about my food choices forced me to consider how I could eat and still honor God. I also learned that most foods are better with cheese.

Seriously, however, when undertaking the disciplines of the Nazarite Vow you learn a lot about yourself, and a lot about your relationship with God. For example, nearly three weeks into the exercise I finished having Sunday morning breakfast with my parents. I had a breakfast burrito and specified that it should have no meat. They brought me exactly what I had ordered. It wasn’t until I was staring at a clean plate in front of me that I realized that delicious wrapped eggs, cheese and potato was smothered in a pork sauce. Never even crossed my mind while I was eating it and, of course, pork is one of the foods I was supposed to avoid.

I felt really bad about the mistake. It plagued me for days as I tried to think what the modern equivalent of sacrificing two turtle doves might be. When the answer occurred to me I wondered why it had taken so long. We don’t sacrifice animals today because Jesus is our sacrifice. So as long as I confess my sin and ask forgiveness, I am cleansed. And this says a lot about God.

Before the time of Jesus one would have to bring two turtle doves or pigeons to the priest for sacrifice, one for purification and one as a burnt offering. Also a male lamb in its first year would be given as a reparation offering. Did God really care about any of these offerings? I don’t think so. I think the offerings weren’t so much as a way to cover sin as it was a way to get us to realize just how serious sin is, and how broken we should be when we sin. Not broken beyond repair, God isn’t cruel, but broken so that we may sin our sin the way God does, and learn to hate it as much as he does. Samuel backs me up on this, by the way, for he told the children of Israel, “Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience?” (1 Samuel 15.22)

During the exercise I learned something about myself as well. Giving up some things was easy, giving up other things took some thought but didn’t matter much beyond that, but giving up a few things was tougher than it should have been. I never considered myself a person with vices, but when I started trying to come up with ways to justify eating or doing certain things that wouldn’t violate the vow, well, let’s say it was eye opening. Eye opening and a little disappointing, because a Chipotle Baracoa burito doesn’t taste right without sour cream and cheese.

It may seem like trying to live under a different set of rules would take up time that could be better spent serving God, but that’s not true. Living as a Nazarite gives one a sense of focus, reminds you more frequently of who you serve. That focus makes you more productive, not less, and allows you to accomplish far more in less time than you thought. Having undergone the challenge I’ll be writing a brief and making it available online about how best to undertake the vow and modern twists to some of the rules. But not right now, right now I’m heading to Chipotle.