Nope, not talking about the stuff you pull from your dryer screen or even (let's be real), your belly button. Not talkin' about lint, I'm talkin' 'Lent'. Yep, that yearly lowlight in the calendar of every Catholic and many other Christians.
Raised in a Catholic family, I really was never much a fan of Lent. Ya see (for those who don't know), Lent is the 40 days of intense spiritual preparation--fasting/prayer/meditation/giving--leading up to Easter Sunday. As a tradition, many Catholics and Christians would give up their vices and guilty pleasures during this time in hopes of becoming a better person and to prove to ourselves that we're really not addicts after all, really, we're not (how do you spell 'denial'?). And therein lies one of the reasons that Lent is one of the worst ideas ever.
People get the bright ideas to give up caffeine, alcohol, desserts, smoking, TV, basically anything that could send them into DT's. And while this 'holy sacrifice unto The Lord' might in some way draw the persons, themselves, closer to God it generally makes them cranky as a bear on PCP to deal with. People get grouchy, irritable, sour and dour; and while they are 'supposedly' on some spiritual high, we all are forced to cope with the side effects of withdrawal from their normal, regularly ingested/inhaled/imbibed mood altering substances which in turn compels us to begin use of said substances.
Moreover, many spiritual pilgrims, as a sign of our spiritual sincerity, abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent. As an alternative, we gorge ourselves on fish, which would explain (if you hadn't noticed) the rash of fast food places that seem flooded with new 'deluxe topped with tarter mcwhaler fish sandwiches' every February. As long as people are being spiritual by gorging themselves with fish, why not turn a profit? It's America. I keenly remember visiting a local establishment in my home county on Fridays during Lent for their 'all you can eat' fish fries during Lent, which I understood to mean 'eat all you can'. Wow, that was sacrifice. Yep, I've always thought Lent is one of the worst ideas ever.
But then, I actually try it myself. Each Lent, for the past 4 years or so, I've renewed my own personal commitment to give something up in an attempt to focus more on God. You know what? It works. This year I gave up chocolate chip cookies (my favorite indulgence) AND snacking between meals, a favored habit of mine that creeps back into my life like a Frito Lay truck driver making his rounds before sunrise. Each year I have found that Lent is like a 'reset' button on my spiritual life, it shows me how soft I've gotten the rest of the year, how I've forgotten that to be a follower of Jesus means I'm to carry my own 'cross' just as he carried a cross. Lent reminds me that there's supposed to be suffering and sacrifice involved in this life with Jesus, a truth that escapes me in my normal-happy-snackin'-chocolate-chip-cookie-eatin' life. When those passing, satisfying yet superficial joys are removed, I press into prayer and meditation in Lent, and I find a deeper peace, love, joy, and satisfaction which became foreign to me (again) throughout the year. Makes me wonder how I find myself in that place again, year after year. The Good Book says 'as a dog returns to it's vomit, so a fool repeats his folly'. Yep, I'm a fool, but Lent always helps me return to my senses.
And for that reason, Lent is one of the best ideas ever.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
If you are like most of the people I know, myself included, that observe Lent by giving up something, you find yourself in the same place next year because on day 41 you get so excited to reindulge that you go at it with reckless abandon.
My "young & married" small group is doing a study called "7 Weeks of Wellness: The Great Physician's Rx for Health & Wellness" by Jordan Rubin. Trust me, it strips out a LOT of things that people "give up" for Lent. It happens to overlap the Lenten season, but it's not for Lent, specifically. Do I think I'll change forever? No. I plan on eating an ice cream sundae the day we are done ("jubilee day"... seriously, read the book!) but I also plan on incorporating some of the principles into everyday life. And I think that's what God wants. He wants us to obey his word and strive to come closer to him through it. Gluttony and sloth are both sins, which means if I can get rid of some of that sin by changing my lifestyle even one iota in the "right" direction, I'm trying "this much" harder than I was the year before. I gave up striving for perfection a few years ago. I embraced God's grace on such items, and I know that I'll still end up in Heaven if I eat nothing but ice cream sundaes every day. BUT, I realize the ramifications of disobeying God's word and consistently resting on my laurels and His good grace.
A little change IS change. To me that represents a little more respect given toward God and His Son Jesus Christ. I'll be honest. I'm not "preparing myself" to celebrate Good Friday or the Resurrection. Oh, I'll celebrate and remember. But I'd rather focus on preparing myself to change for the long term and develop my relationship with God year-round. This will help me help others by being physically and mentally able to share the gospels. Without this continual and sustined change, Lent just seems to me to amount to a spring-time "New Year's Resolution," which is easily forgotten and broken the minute something better comes along.
Peace,
Carrie
Post a Comment