(A 4-part blog series on "what is Lent and why do people give things up?" Part 1 [intro] here; part 2 [what is Lent] here. Today we dive into the purposes in giving things up for Lent.)
So what is the purpose in giving things up for Lent? First, let’s agree that there are several wrong reasons to give things up for Lent, among them being...
- tradition of a family (“my family always has”)
- empty tradition of a church/organization (rote tradition without knowing the meaning)
- personal gain (giving up sweets for the purpose of weight loss)
- pride (giving up things to “prove yourself” more holy, or to display this holiness to others)
- “just to do it” (giving up gum just to give up gum)
- because you think it will “earn you points” with God (as if you can do ANYTHING worth his love?!)
- And my personal favorite: Lent is NOT a time to give stuff up "to identify with the suffering of Christ" (as I was taught as a kid – Seriously?! Christ didn't give up chocolate for a month; he freaking DIED FOR US! There's no way Lent could give us even the tiniest taste of suffering!)
Not one of these are good reasons to give something up… and I would make the case that some of them might even be bordering on sin: pretending something in the name of God while having another basis for it is a dangerous line to walk!
So what IS a good reason to give things up for Lent? That's the topic of tomorrow's finale - have a great Monday.
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