Not Giving Up

Last Wednesday, we kicked off the Lenten season as a Church with Ash Wednesday. Lent is considered the 40 days before Easter Sunday. The tradition is that people give up something in their lives during Lent to help focus on the sacrifice Jesus made and to turn their hearts and minds to Jesus during this time. I love this concept. I think the Lord gets really excited about the idea of His people purging things from their lives that may take their focus off of Him and hopefully replacing it with time in prayer or in the Word. I think He's all for it. So am I.

But I have some problems with Lent in our culture. I feel like its kind of become a really fun trend. I noticed this alot working in ministry. People love to be a part of something. So if giving up things is the thing to do, some people are in for that reason alone. Not because they really want to focus on Jesus's sacrifice, but because "everybody else is doing it" and they want to be included. Or its just what you're supposed to do. I think there's almost a competition among some for who can give up the most unique thing or face the toughest challenge. I've seen people draw attention to themselves throughout the season broadcasting what they gave up for Lent and complaining about how hard its been. The focus ends up being totally on the person or whatever they gave up, rather than on Christ.

I hate it when people get really excited about the fact that Sundays aren't counted in the 40 days and use that as their excuse to indulge in whatever it is they "gave up" on Sundays. Not that I think its supposed to be a legalistic ritual, but I think this attitude is missing the point.

One of the guys on the morning show I listen to decided to give up something for Lent. It was actually pretty funny hearing him describe his situation, but sad on the other hand. He decided to give up hard liquor. And since "you're supposed to replace it with something positive," instead of drinking liquor he's going to work out more. (Just like Jesus.) Oh, and since he won't be able to drink liquor during the 40 days, he's planning on drinking alot more beer. I think he gets it.

My favorite (I mean least favorite) Lenten trend I saw was when some high school girls gave up chocolate or sweets or sodas but their real motivation was, admittedly, to try to get skinny and look better in their prom dresses! And Lent was the perfect excuse and more acceptable than a diet. Gag.

So I personally struggle with the whole giving-something-up thing on several levels. I think it should be authentic. When deciding if I'm going to give something up, I really question my motivation in it. Am I just looking for a challenge? Is that really going to help me center on Christ? Is there some extra benefit that I'm putting more weight on? Am I just doing it because it's Lent and I'm supposed to?

I've explained here that I'm not a morning person. In college and before I had kids, I used to hit the snooze button about 50 times before getting up. I would intentionally set the alarm over an hour before I actually needed to get up in order to snooze. So for two years in college, I gave up the snooze button for Lent. It was the best thing for my walk with the Lord. I would get up when the alarm originally went off and do a Bible Study and spend time in prayer.

I have friends who have given up Facebook, which I think is awesome because it is such a huge time-sucker. Or certain foods because they feel like they over-indulge and know that it would be a true sacrifice and would need to rely on Jesus the whole time.

This year, I haven't really felt like there's something I need to give up that would be pure and authentic for me. But I do feel convicted that I need to spend more time in prayer daily. So for this Lenten season I'm doing a book every night called, A 31-Day Guide to Prayer by Andrew Murray.

Yes, I know I'm already falling short because its only 31 days long. Maybe I'll do a few days twice. Who knows? I've done this book before and its not anything that's super eye-opening or profound on most days. But its really focused on praying in the Spirit and I've been loving that.

If you have given something up for Lent, I hope the Lord is using that sacrifice in your life to draw you closer to Him and you feel encouraged in the process. And if you haven't, I also hope you are finding ways to center yourself on Christ during this Lenten season.