If there was one thing I was sure to botch earlier in my spiritual journey, it was the manner in which I gave something up for Lent. I would always give up something I really loved, such as cheese — and one of two things inevitably transpired. Either I’d break down and start eating cheese four or five days into Lent, or, if I somehow managed to make it all the way through the 40-day gauntlet, I’d overdose on cheese starting Easter Sunday and continue on that path until Ash Wednesday, when the same cycle would begin anew, either with cheese or something else.
That sort of activity didn’t accomplish anything, I slowly learned. The real idea behind giving something up for Lent is to remove something within you that is separating you from God. It’s not just a matter of giving up something you love, it is giving up something you are loving wrongly.
“There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, ‘Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘What is written in the law? How do you read it?’ He said in reply, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ He replied to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.'” (Luke 11: 25-28)
So if I’m loving cheese more than God, that is a problem. If I judge my love of cheese as something drawing my attention away from God and my neighbor, then this is an issue I want to eliminate not just for the 40 days of Lent, but permanently. If after my Lenten sacrifice I simply return to the same bad habit, I’ve done nothing to make myself more pleasing to God.
All humans are overly attracted to something less than God. It might be food, or sensual pleasures, or drugs, or money, or the internet. Whatever that thing (or things) is, it is spiritually unhealthy. So unhealthy, Jesus tells us, that it may stop us from living. During Lent we pray:
“Turn away your face from my sins;
Blot out all my iniquities.
A clean heart create for me, God;
renew within me a steadfast spirit.” (Psalms 51:11-12)
We remove something separating our hearts from God, and pray that He will accept our sacrifice and fill that space with love for Him.
Aim carefully. Perhaps the problem is solved not by eliminating cheese, but by consuming it in moderation rather than constantly craving it. Reducing cheese consumption during Lent, rather than eliminating it, could be enough of a sacrifice (perhaps for some a harder one), with the advantage of being sustainable.
Any habit, good or bad, can only be changed over time. The wisdom of the Lenten sacrifice is that it gives us the necessary time to correct a bad habit. Only God can judge such things, but we can perhaps measure the success of our Lenten sacrifice by considering first, whether we have corrected our bad habit permanently, and second, as a result of this correction, whether we are devoting more of ourselves to God and neighbor in our prayers and in our actions.
Of course, a Lenten practice that does not involve giving something up may be greatly beneficial. For instance, you may feel that God is calling you to pray more often, or do more charitable works. Often it is what we are not doing that most seriously separates us from God.
Gracious God, as I practice self-denial during Lent, may I grow in humility and reliance on you. Help me to turn away from worldly distractions and focus on your presence and purpose. Amen.
