Ash
Wednesday is February 18. That means
that we have once again come to the season of Lent.
I’ve said
this before, but I’ve never really gotten into the whole “give up something for
Lent” deal. Maybe that’s a lousy thing
for a pastor to admit, but it’s the truth.
I’ve just never seen the point of it.
I know it’s supposed to bring us closer to God, and I know it’s supposed
to remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. If it does that for you, that’s great. I’m certainly not criticizing people who give
up things for Lent. Anything that brings
us closer to God is all for the good.
It’s just
never done that for me. Anything I might
give up seems so far removed from the sacrifice that Jesus made for us as to
make the comparison ludicrous. Jesus
gave up his earthly life in a very painful way, I give up Diet Coke for several
weeks. It seems to me like an insult to
the Lord to suggest that the one has anything at all to do with the other.
So, as many
of you know, last year I did something to try to give it a point. I gave up Diet Coke, but I took the money I
saved by not drinking Diet Coke and put it toward a local project in each of
our churches. I also challenged each of
you to do something similar: give up
something and give the money saved toward a local project. In Gettysburg, we chose the addition to the
church. In Onida, it was the swimming
pool project. In Agar, it was the local
fire department.
With Lent
on the horizon, I’m going to do it again.
I’m again going to give up Diet Coke and put the money saved toward a
local project. And again, I’m
challenging you to do the same, but with a twist. If you want to give up something and put them
toward the chosen project, that’s great.
That’s what I’d really prefer you to do.
But if you choose not to give anything up, you can still participate by
pledging to match whatever money I save from not drinking Diet Coke.
In
Gettysburg, we’ll again put the money toward the church addition. It has not yet been determined, at this
writing, where the money will go in Onida or Agar. We’ll let you know once we decide.
In one
other change from last year, I’m going to pass around a sign-up sheet where you
can, if you choose, agree to participate in this and indicate whether you are
going to give something up yourself or simply match whatever money I save. You can, if you choose, participate without
signing up. Some people like to keep
private that they are giving something up for Lent. I understand that, and I respect that.
The reason for the sign-up sheet is
really the same reason I choose to make what I’m giving up public: accountability. If I don’t tell anyone that I’ve given up
Diet Coke for Lent, I can sneak one in once in a while and no one will
know. But if I make a big deal out of
giving up Diet Coke, I know people will be watching me. I know that if I buy one at the ball game, or
at a convenience store, or even at the grocery store, people are going to
notice. They’re going to call me out on
it. Knowing that helps me not
cheat. It keeps me from being led into
temptation, you might say. And it might
help you that way, too.
So let’s give something up for Lent,
and let’s give the money we save toward a good cause. Will that make us feel closer to God? I don’t know.
It will, at the least, do something good. And who knows? Sometimes, doing good is one of the ways we
can feel closer to God.
No comments:
Post a Comment