I go to a Christian college, so about 40 days out from Easter it’s not surprising to hear people discussing what they will be giving up for Lent.
It’s common to hear:
“I’m giving up candy, I don’t really eat it anyway.”
“I’m quitting social media until Easter, #LentStruggles.”
or
“I’m not eating meat. It’s something I’ve been thinking about trying anyway, so this is a good time to do it.”
But none of these answers are really in the spirit of Lent, or in the spirit of repentance and seeking God. If I give up something like candy or meat, things that I would not notice giving up or go on a diet that I have been wanting to try, how does that bring me closer in my relationship with God, or orient my mind, body, and soul towards an attitude of repentance? Even giving up social media, something that would be good for just about anyone, becomes just another way to flaunt the fact that we are depriving ourselves during Lent and gives way to holier-than-thou attitudes.
The purpose of Lent is to cultivate an attitude of repentance in the mind, body, and heart of the believer, and also to recognize the fact that “God is God, and I am not.” The spiritual discipline of fasting during Lent began as a way for early Christians to set themselves apart from the (Roman) culture of self-reliance and rely upon God in the days leading up to Easter. As they fasted, they intentionally remembered the death and resurrection of Jesus, which gave them and still gives us, hope that one day God will redeem the world, even as he has already redeemed us.
But fasting or “giving up” something is not the only way we can seek God during this time. We can set apart time for prayer, reflection, and repentance. It’s not fun to admit that you have wronged others in your judgment of them or wronged God by loving the things he has created more than the Creator.
Before we ask, “What should I give up?” we need to ask, “Why am I giving this up?” and our answer needs to be because missing this at different points in my day reminds me that apart from Christ I can do nothing.
While it’s fine to fast or give up social media, and in some cases beneficial, we can still fail to have the right motive. I’m reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 9:13 when he says, “But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." We don’t celebrate Lent because our sacrifice of whatever will please God. It won't. We celebrate Lent because there is nothing we have, nothing we can bring to the table and because everyone, and I mean everyone, is pretty messed up (wait, so why celebrate...?). But before we were even born, God revealed himself to the world through his son, Jesus Christ, and paid the penalty, which is death, for our unbelief and rejection of him, so that someday we might know him.
When Jesus says that he desires mercy over sacrifice, he reiterates the truth that only God has the authority to save us, and there is nothing we can sacrifice to reconcile ourselves to him.
Recently in Women's Chorale, we have been singing several of Amy Carmichael's poems set to music, a capella. One goes like this:
“Never, never have I brought thee, / gold and frankincense and myrrh / in the hands that groping, sought thee, / precious treasures never were.
What was that to thee, / the measure of thy love was Calvary / stooping low, Love found a treasure in the least of things that be.”
These words capture who God is, and who we are in light of that, and so during Lent let's remember that, as we symbolically await the resurrection of Christ and actually await the day when he will come again.
