Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Matthew 16:24
A few years ago, I was attending a birthday dinner party for my grandmother. After a sumptuous meal, the waiter brought out a platter with a full assortment of delicious looking desserts. I was sitting at a table with my cousin and his wife and she immediately said, “Oh no! I can’t have any of that.”
“Why not?” I asked as I began licking my chops. She answered, “Because I’m giving up desserts for Lent.” The rest of us were not quite as restrained and enjoyed our desserts immensely.
For years and years people have been giving up something for Lent as a spiritual discipline, usually things like desserts or sweets, chocolate, coffee or soda, usually something that they like or crave. My joke is that this year for Lent I’m giving up Brussel sprouts.
But there is another approach that has been gaining popularity lately. The idea is that if we are going to give up something for Lent, instead of choosing something good, why not give up what we really need to get out of our lives permanently? Why not give up something bad for Lent?
It really is a biblical idea, after all. Jesus told the disciples that they should deny themselves, take up their cross and follow him. It could be said this way, “Get rid of those things in your life that prevent you from walking where Jesus would lead you. Get rid of those things in your life that are not Christ-like.”
It’s as if Jesus is saying, “There are certain things you have to give up before you can be at your best, before you can be my disciple.” The only way we can be spiritually well is to get rid of certain attitudes, habits or sins that poison our souls.
So what is it in your life that you need to give up for Lent? What bad thing in your life right now do you need to get rid of? Here are a few examples to get you thinking.
Bitterness. Is there some bitterness in your life right now? Is there a grudge, a grievance, a smoldering hatred, a broken relationship that is tainting your life right now? If so, make that a priority to rid your life of in these next 40 days. Give it to God. Let God bring healing.
What about Apathy? Apathy means quitting on life, not caring, not trying, becoming easily discouraged. It can be an attitude that can easily slip into depression which has many other negative consequences if not addressed. Give to God all that cynical pessimistic thinking and let God replace it with promise and hope.
Or how about discouragement? All of us have moments when we get down, when we feel sorry for ourselves. All of us have to walk through difficult valleys in life. We all know the Good Fridays but the good news is that Easter’s coming. And so through these days of Lent we can — with the help of God and by the grace of God — get rid of those things that discourage us. What brings us down, even what seems out of our control can be overcome through healing and wholeness by our gracious God.
If we are able to give up some of the things that are bad for us for Lent this year, then hopefully, prayerfully, we can give them up forever with the help of God.
— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Todd Hackman is senior pastor at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Monroe.
