Why Should You Give Up Something for Lent?

Why should you give up something for Lent? Maybe you shouldn’t. Lent is a HUMAN tradition that isn’t in the Bible at all.

(But keep reading because there are some really powerful reasons I choose to.)

And some Christian denominations have made Lent an ostentatious ritual that secures salvation or God’s blessing in our lives.

John 20:31 ESV But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Let me be clear. Salvation does not require you to give up something for Lent. Furthermore, it’s not a part of some magical How to please God list.

So, I give up something for Lent to lean into Christ and prepare my heart for Easter.

Everything rests on Easter. If Jesus came back from the dead, it is the only thing that matters. If the Resurrection happened, if that kind of miracle is true, we can trust the rest of the Bible is at least possible.

Spending the weeks leading up to Easter making my own sacrifices and fasting is a powerful way to remember how much going to the cross cost Christ.

Sacrificial obedience strengthens my faith because when I draw near to God, He draws near to me. When my heart is soft and open, I hear His voice more clearly and see His hand in my life.

If Lent isn’t in the Bible, why do it at all?  Because fasting for Lent might not be in the Bible, but fasting is. Around 100 verses discuss fasting in some capacity.

Jesus fasted in preparation for His public ministry, Luke 4:2. He also instructed his disciples in the power of fasting and prayer (Mark 9:29 NKJV) as part of humbly petitioning the Lord.

Fasting lets us hear the Holy Spirit’s voice clearly. We learn to place the spiritual above the physical. The message of the cross is for us to surrender our flesh to God’s will.

And fasting teaches us to focus on God for fulfillment over the things of this world.

I have seen God use the Lenten fast powerfully in my own life. Over the past couple of years, God has prompted me to give up things I never thought I could because I needed to loose their power over me.

Each year, I pray for God to show me what thing I’ve given too much power in my life.

Whatever word first fills the blank “I could never give up ____________” is what I surrender to God’s will. 

One year I chose coffee. I literally have a cup of coffee in my hands from the time I wake up to lunchtime. My profiles all say I love Jesus and coffee. But my concern is that I’ve come to rely on the coffee in ways I should only be relying on Jesus.

Jesus should help me start my day, be patient with my children, and choose to do all the mothering things. But I find that coffee is my go to.

When I explained to my daughter that I had chosen coffee for my Lenten sacrifice that year, her response was priceless, “But Mom! That will be too hard on ME!”

While hysterical, it also shored up my decision to show her that mommy can function without the coffee and Jesus is bigger than my coffee mug.

Knowing I could let go of something that I used to grip with a stranglehold, gave me immense strength to let go of so many more things that were not “whatever” worthy.

Philippians 4:8 ESV Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Giving up something for Lent gave me more room to meditate on the heart of God. 

As much as I’ve grown in my spiritual walk, fighting self-centeredness is a daily struggle. Our human nature is so hard to overcome. Even when I want to serve others, too often my selfishness counts the cost to my self first.

But I don’t want my faith measured by my selfishness. I want my selfishness limited by my faith.

Which is why I choose to give up something for Lent. Not as a fulfillment of some uber-religiosity, but as a surrendering of my self to God.

I spent too many years keeping God in a locked, little compartment of my heart. I only LET my faith affect certain areas of my life. Practically, I didn’t have faith as much as a series of habits that made me feel better about my mortality and humanity.

I was ‘saved’ and a ‘good person’, that was enough, right?

Yet, the more I delve deeply into the Bible, the more I’m convinced that possibly, neither of those things were true. I may have been saved in the way that God knows beforehand whom He will save, but certainly wasn’t living like I knew Jesus.

Believing I had rights to certain freedoms, I was holding onto pet sins and preferences, not realizing how much bondage I was living in.

I had to give up “my rights” to receive the liberty of Christ’s grace and love.

I realized that I can’t hold onto Jesus and anything else.