Lent begins this week. At some point we will adopt the Catholic tradition of “giving up something for Lent”. Yes, lent is about sacrifice and giving up. It is also about fasting and almsgiving. In fact, these are some of the ways the people of the Bible purified themselves, to ready for major religious events.
Lent begs us to revisit their ancient ways, though hopefully, we will move beyond the unimaginative practice of giving up soda. If we are to be purified then we must sacrifice for more than a soda. Lent asks us to sacrifice more than externals, eg. soda and chocolate. Lent asks us to surrender those things within ourselves that keep us from following Jesus. Ultimately, Lent is about giving up the unchristian attitudes we have.
As we know, the Bible offers enough material to reflect upon the whole of Lent. The Bible offers us the Standard for Christian ethical behavior; for example, love your enemies – this tells us how to act toward those who hate us. To be perfect as Jesus is perfect.
This Lent, it is to these things we must ponder – not giving up soda, cigarettes, etc. The more noble sacrifice is to give up the unchristian attitudes we have.