just (don't) try harder

It's a common misconception that Lent is about self-improvement. Somehow a half-remembered custom of giving things up has been mixed in with our society's obsession with self-help and self-improvement, so that we've blurred the true meaning of the fast into a rather individualistic concept, more like a New Year Resolution to detox or de-clutter.

Lent is not about giving up luxuries, not about losing weight or gaining other benefits, not about food per se, not about de-cluttering or Feng Shui or about ay other kind of feel-good, de-toxifying exercise. In the end, it's about denying yourself some of the essentials of everday life in order to focus on the reality that we depend upon God for life itself; about re-aligning ourselves with God and his purposes in our world; about reminding ourselves that all we have is a gift from God in any case.

And neither is Lent about achievement. We cannot earn God's love, nor save ourselves. If our Lenten Fast is understood well, it will relieve us of the need to try harder, achieve more, feel worthy. It will ground us in the firm and unshakeable knowledge that we are human - we are but dust, and to dust we shall return - but that to be human is enough, under the loving gaze of God.

Tomorrow Jen Lemen will appear here as guest-blogger with her lovely post about the Queen of Hearts - encapsulating in her inimitable way the truth that trying harder is not what this spiritual journey is all about.

Comments

[susan]

I just read through your five posts about Lent from a year ago and want to thank you for opening the mysterious box called Lent. I wasn't raised in either the Anglican or Catholic traditions and have been left scratching my head as I watch friends and acquaintances mull over what sort of favorite food to give up... I've often thought, "where is the spirituality in all this? It sounds like the South Beach diet."

You've shed quite a bit of light on the subject which I will surely meditate on as Easter draws nearer. Thank you.

[maggi]

thanks susan - that's nice to hear. I regularly enjoy your lovely photos!

[Karin]

So you won't be reading Peter Graystone's "Detox Your Spiritual Life in 40 Days" this Lent then?

Interesting post. I'll need to think about what you said.

[Jim Watters]

Thanks so much for your thinking on this special time of year. I appreciate your clarity. Blessings - Jim

[jimmy]

It is difficult for people not to see Lent as a bit of self denial in order to gain brownie points with God.
I personally give up nothing for Lent. I prefer to concentrate on what God the Father gave up for me.