Lent

It’s almost that time of year again…
The time where Catholics and non-Catholics alike decide what they will give up for Lent. I’m a member of a Baptist church (though I really prefer not to label myself by religion, but by my decision to believe and accept Jesus for who he is), but I believe that it would do us all good to participate. People give up a range of things…chocolate, meat, alcohol, TV, etc… Now these things may sound silly and insignificant to some, but if we are doing it for the right reasons, it can be a very worthwhile sacrifice.

The idea behind Lent is to bring our bodies and minds into alignment with Christ by performing a little “spiritual spring cleaning.” We give up something that we love in order to refocus on what’s important. God is gracious enough to give us free will to choose how we will live our lives, but we get off track. We let a lot of worldly things come before our spiritual needs. Now something as trivial as a piece of chocolate may not necessarily be interfering with our relationship with Christ, but the purpose of Lent is to be a season of self-denial to foster spiritual growth.

Romans 8:13 - For if you live after the flesh, you will die: but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

Unfortunately after Lent is over we tend to go running back to the things that we gave up for that period of time and forget the whole purpose of the sacrifice. A close friend and myself decided to give up a couple of things last year, but we also decided we would read our Bibles every day during those weeks. Although reading my Bible or some type of devotion should be something I do on a daily basis, I think if we’re all honest, it’s a sacrifice of time. And let’s face it, we just don’t have a lot of time with everything that’s going on. So it doesn’t happen as consistently or as frequently as it should. Anyway, after Lent was over I happily feasted on several bags of Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans (my favorite Easter treat and I had given up candy) and left my commitment to reading my Bible in the dust.

I feel like I am a pretty decent human being, but I lack discipline.
Paul says in 1Corinthians 9:27 - But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
This year I want to approach this with a more sincere heart. After all, these are the weeks leading up to Easter when we celebrate the most incredible sacrifice that was ever made on our behalf!

Life has been pretty crazy around our house for the last 3 months and I definitely haven’t made time for God like I should. But I have managed to make time for things like Facebook stalking and tv (although it is pretty limited these days with the little one). So, this year my plan is to give up three things: Facebook, sweet tea, and once again, candy. I’m putting this into writing for accountability. And I would also like to make a commitment to read my Bible and pray daily. Sadly, I have to admit I let life get in the way and forget to even have a conversation with God some days.

Lent begins next Wednesday, March 9th. I am going to post my blog on Facebook so everyone can still see when there is a new post, but no Facebooking for me after next Wednesday until Easter. What will you give up?