Earlier today, I tweeted something about Lent, and then I decided that my impression of this tradition is far too complicated to confine to tweets.
Essentially, I do not understand the point of Lent the way that most people choose to celebrate it. I get the basics of it, you give up something for 40 days because Jesus wandered the desert for 40 days while fasting, and you want to show Him your love and devotion by giving up something of yours for Him. Here's the thing, though, after those 40 days, Jesus went out and began His ministry. His 40 days of fasting were in preparation for Him to give His life to the salvation of the world.
The idea behind Lent is that if you give up these things that we don't realize we spend so much time doing, you can then devote that time and energy to God through service, prayer, devotional time, etc. Lent is supposed to be a time where you not just make a sacrifice of something you like but where you spend time reestablishing your connection with God and strengthening your faith. Lent is supposed to be a spiritual experience that changes your heart and refocuses you on your relationship with God.
What, then, is the point of participating in Lent if, after it's over, nothing has changed for you? If your faith isn't renewed, if your heart isn't more closely devoted to God, if after Lent is done you go right back to spending as much time, energy, and money on that thing you gave up, why did you do it? What was the purpose? The only thing you're accomplishing is doing something that you feel like your religion tells you that you have to do, and you can therefore feel a little less guilty for those 40 days.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am not knocking the self-control it takes to give up something you really enjoy for 40 days. That is definitely something to be commended! I am also not saying that the whole idea of Lent is absurd because I don't think it is. I think that the idea of Lent is something beautiful and wonderful and that it can truly be a life-altering experience. Sometimes, I just wonder if maybe a lot of people treat Lent like a crash diet. They aren't looking for long-term changes in lifestyle, they just want to look good in that bikini by spring break.
Everything I have given up for Lent has effected me in some way. Two years, I gave up meat, and since then, I am aware of how much meat I eat and what it does to me. When I gave up twitter this year, I began thinking about what twitter does for me, and why I continue to use it. Though I chose to continue using it, I now am more aware of what it is doing for me rather than a mindless activity that I was addicted to. Just because I go back to using twitter or eating meat doesn't necessarily mean that I have less time for God, but we put ourselves in his shoes and sacrifice because he did for us.
ReplyDeleteReally, Lent allows us to take ourselves out of a habit in order to see how it is effecting us and allow a different perspective.
I choose to celebrate Lent in a different way than most people. I choose to, instead of giving up something for Lent, adding something into my daily schedule. For example, last year I added in 15 minutes of meditation every day. When Lent was over that year, I continued to do that meditation for a few weeks just as habit.
ReplyDelete