Lenten Discipline or Lenten Discipleship?

Lent will soon be upon us - the penitential season of "giving things up" that begins on Ash Wednesday - March 9th this year - and extends to Holy Saturday (the day before Easter).  That's 40 days, not counting the Sundays. 

Why would anyone bother to do such a thing?  Well, Lent is a season for self examination, self discipline, and self denial as we prepare for Holy Week, that intensive scrutiny of Jesus' suffering and death, followed by the unexpected joy of his resurrection on Easter.  Holy Week and Easter are the absolute pinnacle of Christian religious observances, and warrant careful preparation.  


People often give up candy & sweets, chocolate, deserts, wine, a weekly meal, coffee, television, or similar pleasures during Lent.  But the manner in which many folk choose and follow their "Lenten Discipline" often misses the purpose of the exercise.  "Giving up" something for Lent isn't primarily about punishing ourselves, even though that's how many people view it.  There is no inherent virtue in denying ourselves, and we run the risk of becoming proud and self-sufficient, as English spiritual writer and mystic William Law (1686-1761) points out: 

Many people not only lose the benefit, but are even the worse for their mortifications [i.e., sacrifices, abstensions], ... because they mistake the whole nature and worth of them: they practice them for their own sakes, as things good in themselves, they think them to be real parts of holiness, and so rest in them and look no further, but grow full of a self-esteem and self-admiration for their own progress in them. This makes them self-sufficient, morose, severe judges of all those that fall short of their mortifications. And thus their self-denials do only that for them which indulgences do for other people: they withstand and hinder the operation of God upon their souls, and instead of being really self-denials, they strengthen and keep up the kingdom of self.

So, done wrong, "giving up" something for Lent can actually move us AWAY from the Kingdom of God and TOWARD the kingdom of self.  Yikes!


We'll have better results from "giving up" something for Lent if we keep in mind that our Lenten discipline is meant to improve our discipleship.  Whatever you choose to give up should encourage your discipleship - your life in Christ.  If you take something away, it needs to somehow add to your relationship with Jesus.  


Giving up television or skipping a meal clearly leaves additional time in your day that you could spend in Bible reading or prayer or meditation.  But what about something like giving up candy?  That's not really going to gain you any time in your day - unless you have a serious candy-eating problem!  However, every time you notice that you're yearning for the candy-coated, chocolaty, sweet deliciousness of an MnM (for example), you can use that as a reminder to turn you heart and mind to the Lord in prayer. 


That is where denying ourselves will improve discipleship: by adding reminders (with every hunger pang or craving) to turn to God.   Of course, we can add discipleship without giving up specific things.  You can add the discipline of daily prayer or study or Bible reading, etc., without also skipping the candy.  


I haven't decided my Lenten discipline yet for this year - whether or not I'll be giving up anything, and what discipleship endeavor I'll be adding.  I'd love to hear whether you observe the season of Lent, and what discipline you'll be taking on.  Please post your comments!