So everyone is thinking about what they’re going to give up for Lent right?!
It’s a hot topic over at my house. Last year it was meat. We went all vegetarian and Ashley freaked out about it. She made sure to emphasize that she would never… EVER give up all meat for anything.
Turn forward to this year I’d love to tell you that she was becoming a vegetarian again but she’s not. I think that she’s determined to go without red meat this year and leave an opening for chicken, fish etc. I’m giving her a hard time for not going all out this year but she’s not having it.
What am I going to give up? Ash has a lot of ideas for me but that’s another blog for another day. Here are some things that I’ve been thinking of doing for Lent:
- Driving: I’ve been thinking about giving up my car for the 46 day period of Lent. I’m not certain that I’ll be able to commit and Ashley isn’t very thrilled at the prospect of riding on my handlebars at 6:00am when she’s got to be at BART for her train into the city. So maybe giving up driving is not a valid option.
- Eating Out: With Ashley’s folk staying with us and paying for food, I came to realize how much money we spend on eating out every month. It’s a ridiculous amount of money spent on little pleasures here and there. I love Baldies. Boy do I love Baldies. And thanks to Byron for that rec! I’ve gained a ton of weight since I learned about that place. Maybe it’s a good thing to give up on eating out for a while… I’ll save money and lose weight. Sounds like a no brainer except that I’ve started meeting with a men’s group that eats breakfast once a week while we learn to be better men, friends, husbands and leaders in the church. So eating out probably won’t happen
- Meat: I could go back to this Lent commitment but that’s so last year! lol
- Exercise: No, I’m not talking about giving it up… you can’t give up something that you hardly ever do! I’m talking about adding a time of exercise to my daily routine. 46 days in a row of of getting in shape. That’s getting my temple in order!
I’ve thought about some other things that would be a little bit different and off the beaten path. Like, what if I gave up prayer for 46 days? That seems counterintuitive to the whole purpose of Lent but what could I learn from separating myself from God for that time? It’s a little scary to think about!
I’m still debating what it is that I’m going to give up for Lent. I like to give up something that has become integral to my lifestyle so that I think about it a lot. It forces me to consider what I’ve given up and why I’m doing it more often than if I gave up something mundane like chewing gum (FYI I don’t chew gum so it wouldn’t force me to think about anything… I’m not saying that you’re lame for chewing gum. I don’t think like that).
What do you think? What’s a good sacrifice for Lent? What are you considering giving up for Lent? What should I give up for Lent? Let me know what you think.
Well, no. I've been trying to avoid thinking about giving up stuff. Unless we're talking about the 3 bins full of stuff I seem to be carting around like an albatross around my neck. Hey, you want books? I got books!
Actually, I don't want to give up the books but it sure costs a lot to drag them around and store them. And I can't really even get to them.
I'm about ready to give up being unemployed. A job would be handy right about now.
Or does it count for Lent if I am forced to give up something. Say we run out of money and can't pay the rent. Can I count being homeless for Lent? And until I'm homeless, maybe I should give up some of my food and money to some of the folks who have been without already for some time.
OK, thanks Robbie for making me think. And thanks Lord for touching my heart and conscience.
Bob
Let's hope that you can give up unemployment for Lent and for a long time beyond this Easter. Your church family in Fremont is still praying over you, and after all we've seen we can rest assured that there is power in prayer!
Does it count if I give up something after Ash Wednesday? Like, on the day you were supposed to give something up, I gave up my I-pod. A couple days later I decided to give up junk food? Does that count since I won't be without it for 40 days? And what happens if it does count and I eat it anyways?
Thanks for the comment Sidney.
As far as it "counting" the things that we give up don't have a mandate upon them. Our Lent commitments are completely a Christian Tradition and not a biblical mandate.
For example, if I give up chocolate I won't lose a prize for breaking that commitment and having a Hershey bar. In these fasts we are giving something up purely for the purpose of associating ourselves with the suffering and temptation of Jesus. What we lose out on by not keeping with our commitments is the total lesson in endurance of a fast. We aren't condemned for falling short and in fact in falling short we can come to understand the difficulty Jesus faced in his temptation. If I failed to follow through on my commitment it wouldn't be the end of the world. My goal in all of this is to come to know the God I serve better and in turn be able to appreciate Easter in a new way. There is no magic in the number 40 or the length of time that we commit. It is purely an exercise to sharpen ourselves.
Hope this helps! Thanks again for the comment!