P. D. James, whose books I can recommend based on the fine appreciation of my wife who has actually read them, says this in her autobiography:

There is no point in regretting any part of the past. The past can’t now be altered, the future has yet to be lived, and consciously to experience every moment of the present is the only way to gain at least the illusion of immortality.

The sentiment about leaving regrets behind is common, so common it is likely taken for granted. Still, I can’t see how not regretting, rawly understood, is really of any benefit. Of course we ought not to live in fear or paralyzation or any sort of bondage to a past that has been confessed to God, but this does not mean abolishing all regret. It might mean better understanding something that happened, being thankful for an unexpected or unforeseen outcome and rejoicing in what was meant for evil being used for good. All of these healthy responses in no way mean that one shouldn’t regret doing evil if that is in fact what was done. If we’re not talking about evil, then refusing to regret makes sense since it’s simply another form of ingratitude or complaint over our limitations–”if only I’d known, then I would have turned left instead of right.” These regrets refuse to admit and embrace God’s sovereignty. Ethical matters, sins, are another thing. If we don’t regret these then we don’t realize the harm done, and forgetting simply ensures that we will not be matured by our past actions and therefore won’t react different in the future. This also leads to despair. Receiving forgiveness and learning from mistakes and sins is far different than just forgetting them. Leaving guilt behind but living in gratitude precisely because of all that has happened is the only way for reconciled people to love the idea of immortality–our past story and current adventures allowed to continue and come into more than we could ask or think.

The flesh resists this daily humiliation, first by a frontal attack, and later by hiding itself under the words of the Spirit (i.e., in the name of “evangelical liberty”). We claim liberty from all legal compulsion, from self-martyrdom and mortification and play this off against the proper evangelical use of discipline and asceticism; we thus excuse our self-indulgence and irregularity in prayer, in meditation and in our bodily life. But the contrast between our behavior and the word of Jesus is all too painfully evident. We forget that discipleship means estrangement from the world, and we forget the real joy and freedom which are the outcome of a devout rule of life. –Dietrich Bonhoeffer

This being Lent, and being interested in the discipline of fasting, I came across this interesting bit in The Form of Presbyterial Church Government of the Westminster Standards. In the section on the Doctrine of Ordination, it says “Every minister of the word is to be ordained by imposition of hands, and prayer, with fasting, by those preaching presbyters to whom it doth belong.” Yet I have never heard of an ordination process or committee that does this routinely. Do you? The citations in include Acts 13:3 and 14:23 where elders were ordained with prayer and fasting.

Fasting is not a no to the goodness of food or the generosity of God in providing it. Rather, it is a way of saying, from time to time, that having more of the Giver surpasses having the gift. If a husband and wife resolve to give up sexual relations for a season to deal earnestly with  a problem keeping them at odds, this is not a condemnation of sex but an exaltation of love. Food is good. But God is better. Normally we meet God in his good gifts and turn every enjoyment into worship with thanksgiving. But from time to time we need to test ourselves to see if we have begun to love his gifts in the place of God.  –John Piper, A Hunger for God

This is one of the most important reasons to fast. For creatures who habitually breed contempt from familiar tokens of love, it is essential to regularly run diagnostics. Paul says that some people turn their stomachs into their god. Every right pleasure ought to indicate to it’s recipient the love and communion the creator of matter and sensation intended for his people. And there is nothing like hunger and thirst to bring to mind what our desires for God ought to be like and to confirm our utter dependence on his goodness and providence. In this sense, fasting is preparation for feasting just like not snacking all day sets one up for a hearty dinner.