I don’t mean to be sacrilegious or even disrespectful. The days leading up to Easter absolutely should be filled with reverence and worship. After all, we spend an entire month (and so much more if you work in retail) preparing for Christmas. Why not put the same effort and commitment into celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus?
But what I’ve never been sure about, never fully understood is the practice of fasting during Lent.
To give you some background, I am a Protestant mutt. I grew up in a Presbyterian and Disciples of Christ church. I was briefly a member of a Methodist church, but have belonged to Baptist churches since college. So the bulk of my upbringin’ and churchin’ has not focused on giving anything up for the 40 days preceding Easter.
But I’ve always been drawn to this mysterious discipline. Once in college, I decided to give up pop (or soda to those of you not from here) for Lent. I’ve never been a big pop drinker, so it wasn’t actually difficult (or much of a sacrifice).
Until the night I was visiting my parents and we had burritos for dinner. As I threw back the last of my rootbeer, I realized what I’d done. I drank pop! Drinking rootbeer with burritos was so ingrained in me that I didn’t even realize it until it was too late.
Then a couple years ago, I decided to give it another try and gave up chocolate. To be honest, my intentions weren’t so honorable or God-focused. I thought restricting my candy intake would jumpstart the weight loss I’m always reaching for. That’s why I did it.
But it turned out that every time I wanted chocolate and couldn’t have it (something that happened several times a day), I thought about why. Which made me think about the sacrifice Jesus made for me. And so, giving up chocolate that year really did draw me closer to God.
This year, though…this year, I also decided to give up chocolate. And again, I have to confess that my intentions were more about weight loss than spiritual discipline. But this year, I recognized what I was doing and decided not to do it after all.
Just to be clear, the timeline looks like this:
- The few days before Ash Wednesday, it occurred to me that hey, maybe I should give something up this year.
- The day before (this would be Fat Tuesday, for those of you keeping track), I settled on chocolate. I mean, it worked before, right?
- So on Ash Wednesday, I didn’t eat chocolate. Same for Thursday and Friday. And Saturday, too.
- Then, on Sunday, I made brownies for our Bible study group.
- And I decided that giving up chocolate wasn’t the best way to grow closer to God.
I discussed it with Mark. Was I just giving up because I wanted a brownie? Or was I really making a better decision for my spiritual walk? My loving husband said it was probably a little bit of both.
And he was probably right.
But more importantly, I am committing to reading through the book of Exodus over the next few weeks. I looked through my Bible to see if any of the books had exactly 40 chapters, and Exodus was the only one that met that criteria.
Or is it criterion? I’m not sure on that…
Anyway. Here’s the cool part: for the past week, I have been excited to read my Bible each day. To be reminded of what God did for Moses and the Israelites. To notice details and messages I hadn’t seen before. To learn what these stories from so long ago have to teach me in 2009.
And I haven’t felt that way in a long time. Maybe there’s something to this Lent thing after all.
What do you think about Lent? Do you give up something? Add something to your daily life for 40 days? How do you decide what to do or not to do?
Photo by happy homebaker
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I was going to say something very profound, but the brownies really distracted me…
I think the point of Lent is just like you said, to give up something to help us focus on Christ’s sacrifice.
Man! Do I want a brownie!
I think you’re right, Mary. I think that’s the intention, but as a culture I think we’ve turned it more into what we can give up for ourselves — like some form of dieting, for instance. But I think reading your Bible is definitely better — not that giving up chocolate isn’t a good idea though! ;) And I think God’s blessing you for it! :) We humans sure do know how to miss the point, don’t we? And/or get off-track of the point? Yyyeah, guilty as charged…
oh, and I don’t think I’ve ever given anything up for Lent. Not seriously anyway. I think it’s a good idea though. Maybe I’ll try it (is it ok to start late though?)
Chocolate isn’t a bad thing to give up–or anything else that could make you a better, happier, healthier or more successful person. God gave us our bodies and wants us to take care of them! I agree that it should be about givig up something to remember the sacrifice Jesus made, but why not make it something that will also make you a better person / feel better about yourself?
the whole purpose of a “fast” is to get you to rely on God to meet your “need” in another way, to bring you closer to Him. Anything you “add” or “take away” that will bring you closer to Him is a great thing to do!!
It’s interesting, what you did (adding something rather than giving up something) was exactly a main point of the sermon we just heard at the theater church on Sunday. The pastor talked about how it’s not about how it’s not all about subtracting something from your life, but that adding something has to happen if your spiritual walk is going to grow. In this equation, God has the power to multiply your efforts in pretty profound ways. I’m not doing this sermon justice, but if you’re at all interested, here’s the link.
http://theaterchurch.com/media/video/multiplication-anointing/
Anyway, just wanted to tell you that your post allowed me to continue reflecting on this important idea.
Chris and I always fast on Ash Wednesday. I don’t know exactly why, but we always have. We have dinner together at midnight and discuss what a beautiful gift God’s son was. Its less of a religious decision, just a personal one. I will miss it this year. (I’m pregnant, no fasting.) I can’t tell you how sad it is when I see friends pressuring their children into “giving up things” for lent even though they haven’t taken the time to explain why they do it. Sometimes I wonder if the parents even know.
Oh, I didn’t mean that giving up food is a bad thing; sorry if it sounded that way. I just meant that it’s good to really think about it and why you’re doing it and everything. (which you seem to be doing!:) I most certainly cannot speak for everyone since I’ve never even practiced Lent! (am thinking I definitely should start though — thanks for your post!:)
No worries, Chelley, you just said what I was trying to say! I don’t think any THING is good or bad for fasting during Lent. I think our INTENTIONS are what’s important. As for starting late, I think that if you feel like God’s leading you to do something, just do it! :) That was part of my problem – giving up chocolate wasn’t God’s idea for me; it was just something I randomly came up with for selfish reasons.
Sorry to distract, Katdish! :)
Never have. (Didn’t grow up in it either.) I have to say, though, I am SO encouraged by yours and Alece’s stories … I think that’s what whoever-it-was had in mind when the idea got started. I think many times it’s done as a rote ‘thing’ and not out of any heart intent that connects with God. I love that this has had such meaning for you and Alece and I’m sure many other people. :D
as i was reading this i was thinking, wait… didn’t she have a brownie on sunday night?! :-)
i don’t give anything up. i never understood the whole lent thing either. and i think i would cheat if i did it. i think i’d pick something that was really easy for me to give up.
i love your idea, though, about adding something, especially reading the Bible. what a great idea!
im SO with katdish. im extremely distracted by those brownies.
ive never given anything up for lent.
brent and i were talking the other day about lent and he asked why just 40 days. i mean…we know the significance – but why not every day, all year long? brents concern is a 40 day fast, as a sacrifice (which is great), but then its back to “normal”.
i think brent was just wondering why more time throughout the year isnt devoted to sacrifice.
I have never participated in Lent either. I grew up going to Baptist and Nazarene churches and now I go to nondenominational Christian, and none of those churches have ever mentioned it. My church is big on times of fasting and prayer though. Since I’ve been reading quite a bit in the blog world lately about the different things people are giving up for lent, I’ve had the exact same thoughts Tam shared about Brent. Although I respect anyone who chooses to participate out of their convictions.
And I wanted to say how much I admire your honesty with the Lord and the whole chocolate thing and then deciding to read Exodus. What a wise woman you are. May the Lord truly bless you and reveal himself in a deeper way to you.
you’re right: it’s all about our hearts. that’s what God’s after all the time.
this is the first year i’ve ever given something up for lent. and i chose alcohol. that makes me sound like a lush—but with the sorry state i find myself in right now, i was finding myself looking forward to a beer at the end of the day. and i realized that i was seeking an “exhale”, a let down, an escape through alcohol — even if it was just a beer or two. i felt God nudging at my heart that HE needs to be my escape. so i chose to give it up for this time to remind me to keep my priorities in line and not seek solace in something other than God and the people He’s placed in my life.
[you're the first person i've explained all that to. yikes!]
interesting that the 40 chapter book is exodus, the book with the passover :)
I just heard, right before Lent started, and now we’re up to Lent 5…so maybe “just heard” is a little off, but I digress. I just heard that Lent is actually for giving something up AND taking on something new. I think I even heard it at church, but being a Methodist I didn’t give too much thought to it.
James –
Well, Lent might be one of those traditions we’ve discussed. I certainly see value to it as a discipline, but I don’t believe we’re commanded to do it anywhere in the Bible.
But I’m Baptist, so I know even less about this sort of thing than a Methodist! ;)