Are you observing Lent? If so, are you giving up anything?

If something is hindering your fellowship with God, shouldn't it be jettisonned with all the other garbage we leave behind as newly-born children of God ?

I'm sorry for those who are offended by what I say, but to me, if the RCC says to do something as a way to bring you closer in fellowship, then that's reason enough to question it.

 

Bro Curtis, you make a good point. But what may be a hindrance to one may be a help to another.

I'm using Lent to reevaulate the "christianness" of my spending habits. Thus, I'm refraining from credit card spending. And I'll tell ya, it was really tempting to whip out my charge card last night at Starbucks when I had no cash on me.

The point here in regards to observance is "voluntary" vs "mandatory". Most of us have at least once done a voluntary fast. I see the Lenten season as no different.

PS - in my latest work adventure, a coworker informed me she was giving up all junk food containing fat for lent. I asked her to define "junk food", to which she replied "the snack stuff that has fat in it". This morning I brought her marshmallows and a vanilla coke. She reminded me of what she was giving up, to which I instructed her to look at the label. Happily, marshmallows and Coke contain no fat . She still can't have cookies, though.

 

John, now you're confusing Lent with marriage. Lent only lasts forty days .

Joshua

 

Lent is as much about giving in as it is giving up. We give in to the Holy Spirit, in to total submission as much as giving up something. The giving up of something is in direct relation to giving in to Someone. That is my view on Lent.

Cheers,

Jim

 

John Smith was the only Protestant to move into a large Catholic neighborhood. On the first Friday of Lent, John was outside grilling a big juicy steak on his grill.

Meanwhile, all of his neighbors were eating cold tuna fish for supper. This went on each Friday of Lent. On the last Friday of Lent, the neighborhood men got together and decided that something had to be done about John. He was tempting them to eat meat each Friday of Lent, and they couldn't take it anymore.

They decided to try and convert John to Catholicism.

They went over and talked to him. John decided to join all of his neighbors and become a Catholic, which made them all very happy.

They took him to church, and the priest sprinkled some water over him, and said, "You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, and now you are a Catholic."

The men were so relieved, now their biggest Lenten temptation was resolved.

The next year's Lenten season rolled around. The first Friday of Lent came, and, just at supper time, when the neighborhood was settling down to their cold tuna fish dinner, the smell of steak cooking on a grill came wafting into their homes. The neighborhood men could not believe their noses! WHAT WAS GOING ON?

They called each other up and decided to meet over in John's yard to see if he had forgotten it was the first Friday of Lent. The group arrived just in time to see John standing over his grill with a small pitcher of water. He was sprinkling some water over his steak on the grill, saying, "You were born a cow, you were raised a cow, and now you are a fish."