A Western PA Protestant Reflects on Lent

I've never participated in Lent before. As someone who was raised Protestant (the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination, to be exact) and still practices Protestantism, I've simply never even considered it an option. The whole ordeal seemed silly to me.

After all, Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Law and free us from those shackles into the freedom of Holy-Spirit-filled living. Why the heck would I then punish myself by arbitrarily abstaining from a non-sinful something I enjoy for 40 days straight? I could view it as a specialized type of fasting, but then it just becomes the Christian version of St. Valentine's Day: A mandatory expression of affection done not to impress but to avoid being a terrible person. Seems pretty legalistic (and lame) to me.

This year, however, on the night before Ash Wednesday, I decided on a whim to celebrate this year's Lent. Inspired by Blood Water Mission's 40 Days of Water, I've opted to give up non-water beverages for these 40 days.

Truth be told, the breaking point was the fact that I'm participating in my church's college ministry Biggest Loser competition, and I've been lazy as heck; I'm killing two bird with one stone! Half a week into this, though, I've come into a better appreciation of the real purpose of Lent.

See, my above complaints about Lent are all birthed out of a terrible attitude. My past thoughts and attitudes on the subject have been entirely based on the obligation of it. After all, yes, God loves a cheerful giver, but that means whenever I give without cheer, it's the cheer that's wrong, not the giving.

Too often the Church universal (which, yes, includes me; yes, I even pick on myself in this blog!) asks what must be done instead of what can be done. For example, I can say, "Screw this! The box of peanut butter Girl Scout cookies looks too good, and they won't taste as good with water as they will with 2% milk! Who said milk was sinful? What happened to the 'Land of MILK and Honey'?" Being able to has no bearing on if it's the most useful decision, though.

I'm undisciplined as heck. Participating in Lent is teaching me self-control. This training can translate into less procrastination in my final semesters of school, not to mention more determination to avoid future lifestyles that could be the death of me. This isn't even considering how this could echo into eternity.

Do I need to participate in Lent? Certainly not! But, it's just a choice between water and 2% milk. If I can't be faithful in this, then seriously, I suck.