Let's Talk About Lent

I realize that usually I write about random fun events, ideas, etc. on this blog, but I figured I would stray from the norm and use this post to reflect on the season of Lent, which begins tomorrow. When I think about Lent, the first word that pops into my head is sacrifice. Lent is about giving up something, right? It's about denying yourself something that you usually find pleasure in, or denying yourself comfort by doing something that is usually difficult. That's what I thought until I read Isaiah 1:11-17 and I was like, "say what"?

In these verses, God's is basically just hating on worthless sacrifice and festivals and prayer services ("the multitude of your sacrifices--what are they to me?"), which is weird because those all seem like pretty good things. But then it says "learn to do right; seek justice / defend the oppressed / take up the cause of the fatherless; / plead the case of the widow". Now this makes more sense to me because that should be the underlying reason to all of our actions...seeking justice. Here's what I think about Lent, take it or leave it. God doesn't care about your daily chocolate intake or the amount of time you spend on Facebook. What God does care about is the amount of time you spend loving others and yourself, building relationships, forgiving enemies, caring about the earth, and bettering the world around you. God doesn't care about the sacrifice itself, but rather what chain reaction the sacrifice catalyzes.

If giving up Facebook for 40 days is what it will take for you to become more appreciative of the people and places in your life, and gain a greater desire to participate more fully in your relationships, then that is a good sacrifice. On the other hand, if giving up Facebook for 40 days will simply give you more time to spend on Twitter, by all means do not relinquish your password to your roommate. See, I believe that if we, as human beings, were perfect, sacrifice would not be necessary. After all, the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus would not have been necessary had humans been perfect.

Therefore, the point of Lent is not to torture yourself by eliminating that daily piece of chocolate from your diet only to go on a chocolate binge on Easter morning. The point is to spend 40 days in acute awareness of how you can better seek justice in your life and the lives of every creature with whom you share this earth. This is a goal that we can all share, whether you are beginning a Lenten sacrifice tomorrow or not. No matter the way in which you choose to move towards this goal of true justice, never turn back.

After all, "what does the Lord require of you / to act justly and to love mercy / and to walk humbly with your God." (Shout-out to my Micahs!)

Happy Lent!