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| Heart For God (Photo credit: SweetCapture) |
Lent season began yesterday. Last year I shared what I had newly learned about this season and my reflections at that time in my post Learning About Lent. I understand what lent should be, and what it can be. But I still struggle with some things. I wonder if it is still meaningful when a person gives up the same thing year after year for lent. I wonder if we are missing the intention of the early church leaders when we think of lent in terms of giving up a bad habit. Why wait until lent if we already know it is bad? Or when we give up something good, what are our motives. I wonder if it is a good thing to tell everyone what we are doing to observe lent or if it is a better thing to treat lent observance in a similar fashion to the way we ought to treat prayer and fasting, not secretly, but not as the Pharisees either. Does telling everyone what we are doing for lent bless them in any way or does it just puff us up and make them feel like they have to do something equal or better? or feel like they are less pious because they aren't choosing to observe lent? Is lent about looking holy? or about being holy? Our family was talking together about all this and my youngest jokingly said "I'm giving up bragging for lent." What stunned me was that in our semi-isolation here, he had already observed that some folks do seem to use their lent observance as an opportunity to boast and put the focus on them instead of on Christ. Out of the mouths of babes.
There are several articles posted in my Learning About Lent post that address the positive elements of lent and the links are still there if you are interested. I found a new article this year whose author has a different and thought provoking perspective, Pastor Stephen Sammons' Why I don't Celebrate Lent. He clarifies up front that he does not have a problem with the origin of lent or the intended purpose of lent, but with what it has become in our day, and then he gives his reasons. It's a stimulating read and made me think about my own motives and desires.
Another pastor suggested that for lent we give up to God what He really wants - our broken and contrite hearts. I've included a link to his article below.
The bottom line is that lent observance is a personal decision. It is not commanded of God. It is not addressed in the Bible. But repentance is. Renewal is. Humility and submission are. Holiness is. Lent season is one avenue God might use in a believer's life to work out those issues in their heart, but it certainly is not the only one.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
This is a great article! I have in years past observed lent. One year I did a Daniel fast, which was a great reminder of the need to set ourselves apart for God. This year, however, although I've been thinking about repentance a lot in my daily times with God, I don't feel impressed to "give up" anything for lent, and it feels like it would be a contrived act of my flesh even, to do something, just to do it! A broken and contrite heart is what we all need.
ReplyDeleteNancy, isn't the mission you and your family are forfilling overthere a continuous Lent, compared with the life you could live in the US or anywhere in the western world?
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