What to give up for Lent?
Huw—It went a little something like this: You should give up something you’ll miss: television, your morning mocha, porn, whatever. The purpose of Lenten sacrifice is to bring one closer to God by identifying with Christ’s suffering on the Cross. The difficulty of caffeine withdrawl, frustration at missing the next month of Lost, etc. should bring to mind Jesus’ sacrifice; out of that, one should engage in prayer and reflection on the meaning of that sacrifice, that He died for our sins.. The Christian purpose of Lent isn’t self-improvement, but improvement of one’s relationship with God: take the money intended for that coffee and donate it to charity; spend your scheduled TV-/porn-watching time in prayer and meditation. Sacrifice that money, that time, that pleasure, and in doing so, reflect. (Disclaimer: lapsed Catholic, deeply atheist, consummate perfectionist.
Caveat: Semi active Roman Catholic who is taking classes to be received into the US Episcopalian church. So, I’ve been surrounded by the God stuff lately. One of the purposes of Lent is to strengthen and deepen your relation to God and Christ, and to prepare for His death and resurrection. This can be accomplished either by giving up something that separates you from God, or to take on a practice that will get you closer to God. I know people that don’t give up any vices, but do more spiritual work – praying the Rosary once a day, or the complete Daily Office, reading through the New Testament, or charity work. Many do a combination of giving up something and taking on a spiritual practice that they didn’t do before. The important thing is to eliminate or take on a practice with dedication to God in mind, not for it’s own sake. It should feel like a sacrifice, but not a punishment. Personally, I’m giving up video games – XBox, computer, etc.
Cosine has a point. Giving up a belief in organised religion has done more for my relationship with God than anything ly else. The church (pick a church, any church) has done much damage in the name of God. Lent is not about giving up something you ‘know’ you shouldn’t be doing. Lent is about remembering the sacrifices that the Son of God made for people who didn’t even believe He was/is the Son of God. The best way to do that, many people believe, is to make some sacrifice yourself. Whether that means giving up or adding something depends on who you are. From a practical standpoint, the Church really pushed Lent and Lenten diet restrictions when there really wasn’t much besides grains and dried fruits to eat. They were putting a ‘holy face’ on the fact that by March the larders were pretty bare anyway, and all that was left was fish, a little dried meat, maybe a side of bacon. The hens had often stopped laying due to poor feed, the cows and goats were dry for the same reason, etc.
I have been trying to come up with an idea for Lent for myself. After reading this thread, I think it’s “shopping”. (I was raised Catholic, and rarely participated in this Lent tradition as a kid/young adult. Now that I am part of a Protestant church that doesn’t talk about giving something up for Lent at all, I do it every year. I have given up caffeine, fast food, candy…
