Lent

Fat Tuesday. Since the late '90's, every Tuesday has been rather rotund for me. But today is the official day of debauchery. As if that's actually OK or something. Romans 6:1-2  What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Apparently, pretty easily. Then tomorrow brings Ash Wednesday; this delightful day where people smear charcoal on their foreheads and pretend to be morose for what happened the day before. Is that really how it's supposed to be? "Oh hey, relax, people need to let off some steam every now & then..." Perhaps. But a half gallon of absinthe & six moon-pies ain't the answer. And if I really died to sin, then perhaps there's really not steam needing to escape, it's just my intense desire to heat up something that should stay cool. Tangent.

I do like the idea of Lent intensely, however. It's about practicing a discipline to remind us to reflect on God. Sort of a prolonged fast that doesn't make me crave formica remnants. Too often, though, people make themselves miserable with their Lent observances. I think this misses the point.  The point of Lent is to trigger us to think on somebody other than ourselves; namely God.

So perhaps the best way to observe Lent is to give up one "negative" behavior or habit and add one "positive" behavior or habit. "But isn't that just self-help or improvement?" Is that a bad thing? Look, Daniel & his buddies went all vegan in Babylon and it helped their physical fitness enormously. But they did it for the right reason: To honor God. It's all about redirecting our focus on the Father; moment by moment. That's what He wants most, for us to "practice His presence." Amos 5:4 This is what the LORD says to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live."

The beads aren't worth it. He is.