As women we’re constantly bombarded with
the latest weight-loss techniques, exercise crazes and fad-diets. The automatic
attention we pay to even the word ‘diet’ in magazines or on billboards is so
ingrained it’s almost as though we’re hardwired to seek out ways to refine and
perfect ourselves.
When it comes to Lent, how many of us
naturally veer towards food when deciding what to give up? How many of your
friends have named chocolate, biscuits, sugar, desserts or chips as their
chosen sacrifice? How many have simply vowed to ‘eat more healthily’?
How many people who aren’t religious and
don’t observe any other part of the Lenten tradition have you heard say those
things? The question is… When is it
less about God and more about you? When is it no longer fasting but simply
starving? When is it no longer a means of spiritual discipline but instead an
early attempt at the pre-Summer health kick? It’s a fine line which we have to
be aware of in these 40 days as we try to prepare ourselves – hearts and minds
– for Christ’s resurrection.
The trouble with giving up ‘unhealthy’ food
is that the next time we reach for that favourite chocolate bar or biscuit, the
little voice inside encouraging us to “make this small sacrifice for the sake of
drawing closer to God” becomes so easily
confused with the equally persuasive voice reminding us that “you’re not allowed
that, it’s banned”.
That’s not to say giving up a type of food isn’t a valid
Lenten pledge! For many people sacrificing
those squares of chocolate in the afternoon or the morning coffee and biscuit may
be the hardest thing in life to give up as it’s the thing they rely on most or
do out of habit. It takes extreme self-discipline.
Food is also one of the only things that is absolutely essential in life, and
so one of the only things that we can guarantee we’ll be reminded of if we
decide to give it up. There are few things that we’ll be tempted by so often,
and in that sense giving up chocolate, for example, acts as a regular reminder
to turn your heart back to God.
Everyone has some sort of favourite food or
little indulgence that they know would be hard for them to give up. As such, in
many ways it serves as the perfect Lenten sacrifice because the point of that
sacrifice is that it’s not easy. But
it’s important to continually make sure that your heart behind your sacrifice
is in the right place.
‘I will decrease, so that God can increase.’
I think this is the fundamental basis of
Lenten promises. Whatever we give up, we have to ensure that God is kept at the
centre of our resolve, and that the primary purpose is to draw near to Him. I
will decrease my indulgences or bad habits so that God can increase in glory.
NOT: I will decrease my chocolate intake so that I can increase my confidence
on the beach, popularity at school or likeness to the celebs.
We need to remember that there are three
pillars of Lent: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. One without the
others loses significance. Prayer alone causes no harm but costs very little of
the self, almsgiving alone becomes self-righteousness, and fasting alone become
merely dieting.
2000 years ago a guy called Jesus gave up
His own LIFE so that we might live. He sacrificed His own flesh on the cross at
the hands of people like you and me, FOR people like you and me. Our simple
acts of self-sacrifice during Lent are a way to share in that Good Friday
spirit and dedicate our own bodies and our own lives back to Christ.
So next time you find yourself tempted by
whatever it is you’ve given up for Lent, check your motivation. If it’s become
an arbitrary rule a mere sense of duty, or even a subconscious method of fixing
your figure after the weeks of eating Christmas chocolate, then offer that to
Jesus and ask Him to give you a heart of truly
sacrificial love in return.
Excellent post!
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