My heart hasn't been right with the whole "Lent" idea. Maybe it's because it wasn't a part of my culture growing up, but this year I decided to jump on the Lent bandwagon without much knowledge.
I know you give up something for 40 days (I saw the movie 40days/40nights) and you get one day a week to 'cheat'. I've done pretty well if I do say so myself and until last night stuck to that rule. I was sitting there with friends at PoBoys (which is actually a cool place if you haven't been there!! Hidden entertainment in Peoria.) A friend bought me a drink and I drank it. Not 10, but one. I didn't feel conviction.
To me, there are so many loopholes when it comes to Lent. If it's supposed to be a symbolism of sacrifice, why do you get the cheat day? You are supposed to use the temptation time to pray, but how many people remember to do that? Maybe it's just because I'm green behind the ears on this subject, but I didn't. Let's say you give up swearing for lent, that takes training of the tongue to stop, and you accidentally slip. You ask for forgiveness and 'try' not to do it again? It just seems too easy.
Daily I try to step outside of the box to focus on what I need to change/sacrifice for my relationship with God to grow. I've heard others this sacrificial time is supposed to help with struggles in the future. (Not swearing like a sailor for 40 days should help in that arena, etc) I don't think I've grown as a person by giving up alcohol. Maybe I am looking at this whole experience in the wrong light, and in that case I'd be up to listening to support. I just don't think "Lent" is something I'll participate in again.
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3 comments:
Les,
I don't mean to offend, but I think you've missed the point here. The point of Lent is to give up something meaningful to you as a sacrifice and a symbol of what Christ did for you on the cross. I don't think drinking or swearing qualify. You can't sacrifice something you shouldn't be doing anyway! That's like saying, "I'll give up punching babies," or "I'll give up driving my car into the elderly."
And just one other little thing, which I found hilarious. The saying is "wet behind the ears," not GREEN behind the ears! LOL. You kill me.
No, Justin you are right. In talking with Summer I have found that I picked the wrong thing to give up. Thats where things went wrong. It's funny that you say that about "wet behind the ears" because we've been talking at work about 'green' candidates and I actually think 'green behind the ears' has been discussed.
actually, "green behind the ears" and "wet behind the ears" are both correct
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