In my devotions for Ash Wednesday I ran across a line that caught my attention: "Lent is not about losing weight." What a wonderful critique of Lenten practices that betray the true sense of the season.
I think what the author meant was this: the temptation of Lent, as in all of life, is to turn even our spiritual practices (yes, even our Lenten discipline) into a narcissistic self-improvement program. Truth be told, it is my hope that all emerge from Lent "better people"--if the practice of repentance "takes"--but that is a different matter.
Has this in fact been what we have turned Lent into: another set of New Year's resolutions, or Christian weight-loss/self-improvement program? I hope not.
Perhaps careful attention to (and practice of) the three traditional Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and works of mercy/almsgiving may serve to reverse this.
I, too, have been bothered for a while by our tendency (often led by pastors) to boil Lent down into tokens of self-improvement.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the challenge in deciding a Lenten 'fast' is to think of something that, in the act of doing it, will help the individual focus on a gracious and merciful God.
When this is kept in mind, it is hard to see how "losing 10 pounds" has much to do with God's activity in the world.