Editorial: A thoughtful, intentional Lent
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What did you give up for Lent?
The traditionals are things like chocolate and alcohol. Modern, digital Christians who observe the 40-day period leading up to Easter might abstain from things like Facebook or Twitter. Diehards eschew meat the whole time, regardless of Vatican II-era changes. Some gratefully limit that break to a Friday fish fry — unless they forget and remember with their teeth sunk deep into a bacon cheeseburger.
What is good for this Episcopalian might not work for that Roman Catholic and both could be too lenient for the Orthodox Christian next door or more than a Protestant would demand. It’s a practice that is both broadly observed and deeply personal, which means there is no right or wrong way to do it. (Your priest may have a different view.)
Where most religions agree, though, is that whatever your practice is for Lent, the most important part is to do it thoughtfully.
That may be why some people are not subtracting something from their daily lives as they march onward toward April. Instead, they are using the season of faith and reflection to add something instead. From Pope Francis to the Church of England’s Archbishop of Canterbury to pastors and individual believers, people are focusing on a rededication of belief.
That might mean adding daily Bible readings to the routine, like Mark Batterson of National Community Church in Washington, D.C., is doing, according to the Christian Post. It might mean volunteering. It might mean actively making an effort to be more grateful or faithful or just present. It might mean spending more time with family or taking care of the body God gave you.
All of this can be seen as a sacrifice. It is giving up time that went somewhere else. But more important is the act of remembering to make the change, because when we institute a new habit, it can’t happen passively. It has to happen with intention, which is really what Lent is about.
Doing things thoughtfully and intentionally isn’t just about faith. It’s how we should approach everything in our lives.
If we really thought about how we voted, would we vote differently? If we really thought about where we donated our money, would we be more generous or discriminating? If we really, really thought about what was important to us, would we lift our voices more often?
Maybe that’s something to think about this Lenten season, even if you’ve already given up brownies and Instagram.