Parson to Person - Giving up? Adding on?

Every year in February or March, we have another chance to start over, to renew our effort at self-discipline. Another chance because the most popular first chance is related to New Year?s resolutions. The new calendar provides an arbitrary incentive to make personal changes in habits and attitudes. Well, if those didn?t stick, we just began another season of possibility March 1. We are in the season of Lent, the 40-day period of preparation for Easter.

One question shared among some of the faithful in this season is, ?What are you giving up for Lent?? The historical practice of Lent has included a measure of self-denial as a spiritual practice. That is, the temporary omission of some simple habit or convenience as a reminder of the depth of commitment that Jesus Christ undertook on our behalf.

The idea of ?giving something up? is an incomplete description. The full circle is self-denial, then using the time gained on something worthwhile, and giving any money not spent (for the thing given up) to help the poor. For example, giving up enjoying a favorite beverage, then using the time that would have been spent drinking it in prayer, and giving what would have been spent to the food pantry.

The practice of self-denial can lead to an understanding that the importance of the habit given up is not as important as it seemed. In other words, in this practice our sense of value may be readjusted, either temporarily or permanently.

Self-denial is really self-improvement presented in the negative. Why not simply decide to ADD a good habit, and replace a bad habit? What if we decided to practice cheer and optimism to replace a grouchy negative tendency?

This season of Lent offers a reminder that we are in this world, but not of it. This is a good time to readjust our thinking, to allow realignment of our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions to more nearly match those of the will of God.

Humans tend to have difficulty with balance. We enthusiastically pursue one interest for a while, until some new interest arises, and then we pursue it with all our energy, until the next one arises. Maybe a good message for Lent is that we can use the time to realign our lives toward the source of life. We act as though we are at the mercy of the world and the forces of nature instead of realizing that it is our brains, and our intentions that determine our life habits.

Lent comes to tell us that most of the daily things we deal with are of little eternal consequence. Instead of being defined by the little things that devour our days, let us be known by our eternal hope, and live with all we have been given.