Fasting

One of the more notable traditions of Lent is fasting.

The problem I think a lot of us have with using Lent as a time to expand our relationship with God is that we usually sacrifice something that we fully intend to resume after Easter. I'm not saying that giving up a vice is better than giving up a luxury... I'm saying many of us give up vices and resume them at the end.

Giving up a Luxury
Depending on how you want to use the time of Lent, giving up a luxury is a very valid way to expand your relationship with God. A lot of luxuries can fall under vices, but we shouldn't get carried away. A lot of modern conveniences are just amazing. We can buy pre-cooked food and have it delivered to our door, we can buy a copy of almost any song we want to listen to in a few seconds, and many more. By giving up luxuries, we grow by seeing just how lucky we are to be living now and we warn ourselves from feeling a sense of entitlement. Freeing ourselves from entitlement is a very important action for Christians. Realizing that we are not entitled to anything, but that everything is a gift, is a central concept of our relationship with God.

Giving Up a Vice
Probably the most common choice among those who choose to observe Lent, atleast among Protestants is giving up a vice. Usually these are also luxuries like alcohol, coffee, chocolate... sometimes porn, drugs, or other addicitions even facebook is one I've seen reciently.

I think one of the key issues with choosing to give up a vice is trying to make it permanent. It's a vice! We shouldn't be practicing it anyway! So instead of going though Lent, building up our sense of withdrawl, and then being distracted through Holy Week in anticipation of resuming our addiction, maybe we should focus a lot more on breaking the addicition insead of just abstaining.

How does chocolate fit in to that, it doesn't really, but over eating does. It's the addicitions that are the vice not the actual thing that your are addicted to. If your vice is drugs, alcohol, or over eating those are very important issues that need to be solved...and if you want to take your faith seriously you need to seriously confront them.

As this blog progresses I'll be looking at ways to confront those addictions.