In an effort to spend more time in prayer and contemplation, many Christians dedicate themselves to some activity during the period of time between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. Although it’s not required, most people try to do something challenging … something they hate to lose … some activity that, if given up, would make them better people. Smoking, drinking, and gambling come to mind. Like the martyrs of yore, the people who choose this activity for the Lenten Season, seem to enjoy the suffering … “wearing a hair shirt,” “fasting without a break-fast in the near future,” or actually giving ten percent to God.
Most of us have, at some time in our lives, planned to celebrate Lent by “suffering.” I remember giving up bubble gum one fine winter morning. The strange part was that our church didn’t participate in this pre-Easter activity. I’m not sure, but as I remember it, we didn’t participate in Easter very much either. Oh, we had new hats, gloves, and lacy dresses to wear to church Easter morning. But we didn’t do “ashes,” “Shrove pancakes,” or even “Good Friday.” I was pretty well convinced that Good Friday was a” good” day for planting the spring garden.
Although my childhood congregation didn’t do some of the traditional activities, we talked about the Biblical act of sacrifice. I remember one of my Sunday School teachers had us write down our pledges. He (of course it was a man … we were moving into adolescence and needed the strict guidance of the male educator.) … He emphasized how Jesus had given up everything and had spent forty days in the wilderness. John, the Baptist, wore an itchy shirt and cheap shoes. I was pretty sure that my mother would not let me walk across a vacant lot on the way to school, much less a wilderness … no matter how Holy it sounded. And there was not enough Calamine Lotion in North Texas to make an itchy shirt a good choice.
My best friend decided to give up candy. Now, this girl was tall and thin … weighed maybe ninety-five pounds … fully dressed for February. I’m not sure how much candy she’d been eating, but I knew this wasn’t going to be a struggle for her.
A few years ago, I decided to give up doing the laundry for Lent. I was going to just give up ironing, but it seemed like such a waste to go to all that trouble and expense washing and folding my clothes when they were going to be wrinkled, anyway. Don’t worry … that pledge went the way of most New Year’s resolutions and fad diets. By the time I ran out of clean white blouses, my mother was leaving the ironing board up in my room as a hint.
I was all for giving up things I didn’t like. I pledged to keep myself pure … not sure from what. I pledged to give up cussing. At the time that included words like Golly-gee and Drat. I pledged to read the Bible from front to back … and that didn’t happen. The only book I read from cover to cover was one I found under the towels in the bathroom.
So, giving up something for Lent is supposed to make time for something better. If you aren’t eating candy, how about giving that food to children who have none. If you aren’t going to gamble, donate the money to a good cause … either way, you aren’t going to come home with it. If you are going to give up riotous living, learn to do something much more productive … dance, sing, write poetry, pray. You will feel better in the morning … especially Easter Morning.
- Log in to post comments
