Every year so many people give up something for Lent. Lots of them stick to a rigid 40 day rule. For this period of time they will not partake in whatever they have sacrificed. I admire some people's ability to remain disciplined enough to do this however I have problems with those who think that the concept of Lent is confined to the idea of merely giving something up. It isn't.
I have witnessed many people talk on and on about how they will not eat sweets/candy or drink any alcohol until Easter Sunday.
"Why do you do this?" I ask.
"Because it's Lent!" they answer incredulously by way explanation.
So a fat person who is addicted to chocolate gives it up for Lent. In their head they are counting the days to Easter Sunday so they can start stuffing their face again. To their credit many will succeed in their fast only to resume eating chocolate the whole year until the next Ash Wednesday.
Similarly a smoker gives up smoking for the 40 days of Lent only to continue to pollute their bodies (and possibly other people's) for another 325 days until Lent begins again.
Apart from his or her admirable ability to abstain for 40 days can anyone explain how a person in either example can have benefited? In particular can anyone tell me how they have benefited spiritually?
The truth is neither has. They wasted their time and energy because when Lent ended they simply picked up where they left off. Their lives were exactly the same as they were at the start of Lent so they may as well not have bothered! One went on eating chocolate while the other went on smoking. They spent the seemingly endless 40 days anxious, perhaps suffering from withdrawal and ignorant of what Lent is truly about - changing oneself for the better! They hid behind a shroud of righteousness in the mistaken belief that rigidly following a semi-strict prohibitive rule somehow makes them morally superior. It doesn't. If they understood Lent's purpose then after the 40 days they would have either given up chocolate/smoking completely or substantially reduced the amounts they consume! In other words they would have gained something. Less chocolate and less smoking would make them healthier and their lives incrementally better!
I have witnessed many people talk on and on about how they will not eat sweets/candy or drink any alcohol until Easter Sunday.
"Why do you do this?" I ask.
"Because it's Lent!" they answer incredulously by way explanation.
So a fat person who is addicted to chocolate gives it up for Lent. In their head they are counting the days to Easter Sunday so they can start stuffing their face again. To their credit many will succeed in their fast only to resume eating chocolate the whole year until the next Ash Wednesday.
Similarly a smoker gives up smoking for the 40 days of Lent only to continue to pollute their bodies (and possibly other people's) for another 325 days until Lent begins again.
Apart from his or her admirable ability to abstain for 40 days can anyone explain how a person in either example can have benefited? In particular can anyone tell me how they have benefited spiritually?
The truth is neither has. They wasted their time and energy because when Lent ended they simply picked up where they left off. Their lives were exactly the same as they were at the start of Lent so they may as well not have bothered! One went on eating chocolate while the other went on smoking. They spent the seemingly endless 40 days anxious, perhaps suffering from withdrawal and ignorant of what Lent is truly about - changing oneself for the better! They hid behind a shroud of righteousness in the mistaken belief that rigidly following a semi-strict prohibitive rule somehow makes them morally superior. It doesn't. If they understood Lent's purpose then after the 40 days they would have either given up chocolate/smoking completely or substantially reduced the amounts they consume! In other words they would have gained something. Less chocolate and less smoking would make them healthier and their lives incrementally better!
Jesus went into the desert to fast for 40 days and nights. He went without food or water during this hellish time. The reason he did this was to prepare and discipline himself for his ministry and begin a new stage in his life. Did he return to his parent's house after the 40 days? No! Did he go back to his old life? No! He started a new way of life, traveling far and wide spreading the Good News. Similarly we must use Lent to change our lives! This will not be easy. Going hungry and thirsty in the desert, suffering great hardships and temptations, was not easy for Jesus. It required great will-power and effort. We too need such strengths in order to realise and make real the promise of a new way of life.
One Lent when I was about 7 or 8 instead of giving something up I decided to do something - make my bed every morning. Before those particular 40 days I had never made my bed. When the 40 days were over I had become so used to the routine of making my bed I went on doing it thus saving my mother's precious time because she no longer had to make it! I benefited by being somewhat more independent and someone else benefited too!
Therefore Lent is not just about abstaining from things, it is about improving oneself by activity changing the way we act and the way we think for the better. All year round we can then put this into practice until the following Lent that allows us to renew such commitments.
And, if some Pharisee admonishes you for momentarily breaking your Lenten sacrifice, remember this - Man was not made for the benefit of religion. Religion was made for the benefit of man.
