It's Lent again. Again. Seems like it was just Lent...how fast the last year has gone by. Dutifully, I played the Ash Wednesday service this week, but I felt better about it than last year. This is probably because even though things are crazier and more emotional, in some respects, than last year, I am at peace with my past decisions. Finally. I feel more spiritually centered, less doubting, more hopeful.
Protestants don't necessarily follow the Lenten "sacrifice" of giving something up. By making a sacrifice I suppose you are supposed to feel closer to Jesus, because he is the one who lived - and died - the biggest sacrifice of them all. I don't give anything up and instead focus on my own personal spiritual journey. How can giving up say, chocolate, for Lent, compare to giving up a life? It can't. And if one is not spiritual at all, how does giving up chocolate mean something? Little steps, maybe, if one has a path or a plan for becoming more spiritual in whichever way one chooses.
But if one's intentions are obviously maligned, what then, is the point? Seriously, how hard is it really to give up something like chocolate? Why do these kinds of "sacrifices" need to be material in nature? Why not consider giving up holding grudges? Or eliminating road rage from your driving habits? Or curbing your urge to tell racist jokes? Living by example is really, in my opinion, the only way to change the things that are wrong in this world.
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