People started asking me the question the day before Ash Wednesday: what are you giving up for Lent? It seems that the time before Easter known as Lent has become synonymous with giving up or fasting from day to day pleasures, like candy, the use of social media, or meat on Fridays. It took nearly a week before someone asked if during Lent I spent more time in prayer and devotions. He wondered if it was difficult to find the extra time in my day for spiritual practice.
What if we considered a different approach to Lent? What if we looked at Lent as a time for giving rather than as a time of giving up? What changes would that make for us?
We’ve come to understand Lent as a time during which self-denial is used as a spiritual practice. This self-denial is meant to remind us of our dependence on the grace of God which sustains all life, of the human tendency to put desires for things ahead of other pursuits, and of our preoccupation with things that prevent us from being the people we were born to be. Fasting or abstaining from various foods or activities can be helpful reminders that often we take our self-indulgent desires far too seriously. Let’s be honest: a fundamental value in consumer culture is if we want something, we should have it right now!
Giving something of ourselves or our resources to others makes a different kind of statement. When I decide to give something to others, I am acknowledging that I am not the most important person in the world. Giving to others acknowledges that the needs of others are often much more important than the things I merely want in life. Giving draws me out of self-preoccupation to live in a way that is engaged with others. Giving to others is an opportunity for our own growth. In today’s culture, giving to others is also a witness for social justice.
In this social milieu, to give to another our time, our concern, or our resources is to make a statement that a society built on selfishness is fundamentally flawed. Greed only leads to greater corruption. Simultaneously, generosity up-lifts both the individual and the community and enables the possibility of a better future for all members of the community.
It often comes as a surprise to many people that giving for Lent is a traditional practice. The traditional practices that are consistent over the centuries are prayer, fasting, and alms-giving. Somehow, the fasting, the “giving up,” has been most associated with our contemporary images of Lent. But giving what one has freely to others has long been understood in the Christian tradition as following the example of the Christ – who gave of himself in every way possible.
What are you giving up for Lent? Perhaps it’s time to give up self-centered preoccupation, selfishness, and greed. We learn to give them up when we open ourselves to give. Yes, it’s a transforming spiritual practice to give of oneself for Lent. Giving up a false sense of self while also giving freely to others is surely the heart of the Easter mystery.
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