Why I Don't Like Lent

Romans 10:9-11 (ESV): My Beef With Lent

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Confession and belief in Christ are gifts of grace, as is our entire life of faith. It is during this time of year, the season of Lent, that I am reminded of this. With all of the preparation to “give something up for Lent,” I scrutinize and question what it all means. Fasting, sacrifice, prayer, and almsgiving seem, at times, like one big church commercial for the faithful to realize and express guilt for not being “good enough” Christians.

Lenten practices are traditional. They are not, however, a requisite for salvation. When the institutional church calls people to fast, give up meat, almsgive, and perform acts of penance, it sends a mixed message, a message that conveys a do-it-yourself guide to holiness and salvation. This type of Lenten thinking is counter intuitive to the story of Christian salvation. And as Paul reminds us, we are saved by grace and our expressed faith in Jesus Christ. Even the confession of our lips and the movement of our hearts are gifts of grace. This cannot be manufactured, reproduced, or forced. No penitential act or season can make it happen. For they are God’s free gifts.

I am not a proponent of traditional Lenten practices. The fasting, ashes, collections, abstinence, and devotionals serve to remind me of what I should be doing every day. Lent is meant to turn us around, to remind us of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, to bring us spiritually to, so to speak. Instead, it fosters a 40-day feeling of dread and guilt in many. And the institution takes advantage of this. When are the calls for financial support and charitable giving most prominent? During Lent.

What would happen if we took Jesus and Paul at their word? What if we simply opened our hearts every day to the free gift of God’s grace, knowing that he is always with us, even when we fail? And I often fail. What if we treat every day, every moment, and every person we encounter with the love and peace that God gives? The world we be rich with beauty, kindness, and compassion.

It is not about the 40 days; it’s about every day.

Have a blessed week!

Stan