As a kid, I really disliked know-it-all's. You know, those people who seemed to know EVERYTHING and didn't mind telling you so?  They even went so far as to try and make you feel dumb because you didn't walk around constantly talking about the depth of your intellect.  I couldn't understand why I disliked them, but I just did. Now, that I am an adult,  I still haven't quite figured out why I dislike a know-it-all, but maybe it's because they often lack any real tact about themselves, they are aggressive in their approach and a tad bit too arrogant for me. Humility goes a long way in my opinion.

Unfortunately, there are know-it-all's in all facets of life, even in the fasting world.  As a faster myself, I'm a member (or silent visitor) of many fasting sights and every so often, I run across a forum where this one person claims to be the expert on fasting. He or she constantly corrects and criticizes everyone else in the discussion. I don't disagree that there are some true fasting experts out there, but I'm not talking about them (who often don't even tout themselves to be experts). I'm talking about the one's who speak from their level of experience and from their range of thought Their ideas about fasting don't supersede their own beliefs, but yet they are always imposing their beliefs on  other people. Basically, all they know is what they THINK they know, not what they can prove to be true.

What I often see happen  is the non know it all people end up going back and forth with the know-it-all, and sooner or later a fight ensures with the Fasting Guru. It's really difficult to watch! As great as I am, I can't say that I've never engaged in a debate with a Fasting Guru, in fact I once got into a debate with this know -it-all who argued that fasting had  nothing to do with God. I'm not going to get into that today, but I will say that after we finished going back and forth, he still believed the same thing and so did I. Nothing change and I had just wasted a good 30 minutes of my day arguing with someone who's ideas had no personal effect on me whatsoever. In addition to that, it bothered me to know I had allowed myself to even engage in such foolishness. Since that time, I've decided to never engage in a debate with a fasting guru. I prefer to do more productive things with my time.

The thing that really bothers me about fasting gurus is how their words of know-it-all'ism can cause some people to give up on a fast, or not fast at all.  I've seen a fasting guru dismiss a person's reason for fasting and that person in turn do something else. They bully people into thinking  they really do know it all when they don't.

With all of that being said, I encourage you to ignore the fake fasting guru's,  and seek better counsel. Seek someone who is encouraging, who can offer you real wisdom and who's intent is to help you and not just prove what they know.  Last but not least, don't fight with the fasting guru's, as it's a battle not worth fighting. It's hard enough fighting through temptation on a fast, let alone fighting with a know-it-all.

That's just my opinion, what's yours?  Have you ever had to fight a fasting guru? What was your experience like?