Yesterday I talked about the tradition that many Christians have of "giving up" something during Lent, and focused more on the reason why this tradition developed. Today, I want to take that same thought another step further, thinking about what the goal of such an endeavor is or should be.
Let me start off with a question. Why do you want to become a better person? I honestly think that, if you give some thought to it, the answer isn't always as easy as we might think. For some, it may be because you see how some particular thing affects you in a negative way. Think about someone who gives up sugar or soda for Lent. It's likely that they want to cut down on those fattening things, and recognize that they might lose a little weight and feel better for doing so.
Or, someone may want to give up some bad habit because it affects how others see them. Think about the person who gives up their habit of making excuses for why they don't do things, or who gives up blaming others for the mistakes and problems of their lives. They see that other people take up a negative view of them because of this, and so they seek to change how others see them.
Now, I'm not going to go through all the reasons that someone may give up something during Lent. However, here's what I want to focus on. For whom do you give up something? Just looking at the two situations I listed out above, who is the primary beneficiary of the change in life? It's the person who is doing the "giving up." A lot of the time, when I hear the things that people give up during Lent, they are focused primarily on that person's own life.
Which leads me to this observation. The tradition of giving up something during Lent in making ourselves a better person is an admirable thing. It is always good to improve ones' self. However, if we ourselves are the only ones who benefit from the change, then I would go so far as to suggest that we have still missed the point.
Becoming a better person should not be focused only on ourselves, but upon everyone that we interact with. In a sense, we become a better person because it benefits our neighbors, and shows our love to our neighbor as ourselves. In closing, I'll share a bit of a personal example.
A few years ago, I took up the habit of running. At the time, I had suffered an ankle injury playing basketball, and had to give up my basketball days. But I realized that I was getting short of breath when I would preach, and that I didn't have the stamina to get through our regular Sunday morning schedule without getting tired.
I knew that couldn't continue, or that, if it did, then the people of the congregation would suffer just as much as me. So I took up running because I saw that it not only gave a benefit to me (better health, etc), but it also improved my ability to interact and lead the people of the congregation. I made a personal change that was for the benefit of my neighbors.
So in closing, I'll simply leave you with this thought, and hope that you think a bit about it today. How is your personal thing that you are giving up in Lent also serving to benefit your neighbors, and to show that you love your neighbor as yourself?
Let me start off with a question. Why do you want to become a better person? I honestly think that, if you give some thought to it, the answer isn't always as easy as we might think. For some, it may be because you see how some particular thing affects you in a negative way. Think about someone who gives up sugar or soda for Lent. It's likely that they want to cut down on those fattening things, and recognize that they might lose a little weight and feel better for doing so.
Or, someone may want to give up some bad habit because it affects how others see them. Think about the person who gives up their habit of making excuses for why they don't do things, or who gives up blaming others for the mistakes and problems of their lives. They see that other people take up a negative view of them because of this, and so they seek to change how others see them.
Now, I'm not going to go through all the reasons that someone may give up something during Lent. However, here's what I want to focus on. For whom do you give up something? Just looking at the two situations I listed out above, who is the primary beneficiary of the change in life? It's the person who is doing the "giving up." A lot of the time, when I hear the things that people give up during Lent, they are focused primarily on that person's own life.
Which leads me to this observation. The tradition of giving up something during Lent in making ourselves a better person is an admirable thing. It is always good to improve ones' self. However, if we ourselves are the only ones who benefit from the change, then I would go so far as to suggest that we have still missed the point.
Becoming a better person should not be focused only on ourselves, but upon everyone that we interact with. In a sense, we become a better person because it benefits our neighbors, and shows our love to our neighbor as ourselves. In closing, I'll share a bit of a personal example.
A few years ago, I took up the habit of running. At the time, I had suffered an ankle injury playing basketball, and had to give up my basketball days. But I realized that I was getting short of breath when I would preach, and that I didn't have the stamina to get through our regular Sunday morning schedule without getting tired.
I knew that couldn't continue, or that, if it did, then the people of the congregation would suffer just as much as me. So I took up running because I saw that it not only gave a benefit to me (better health, etc), but it also improved my ability to interact and lead the people of the congregation. I made a personal change that was for the benefit of my neighbors.
So in closing, I'll simply leave you with this thought, and hope that you think a bit about it today. How is your personal thing that you are giving up in Lent also serving to benefit your neighbors, and to show that you love your neighbor as yourself?
No comments:
Post a Comment