Giving something up for Lent may sound easy, but it’s harder than you think. Some Catholics and Christians who practice Lent give up the basics, such as chocolate and soda. Other people choose to improve themselves by giving up habits that lead them to sin. For the last several years, I haven’t given up anything for Lent because I gave up basic vices like sweets. This year, I am giving up snoozing.
It’s a habit most of us have, because school piles us with so much that we need sleep more than anything.
The reason I chose to forego the little morning siesta is because I want to make good use of my time.
The only thing that is helping me through this Lent is caffeine. Without it, I would have failed Lent 2019 already.
The reason why we have to give up certain things is because Jesus Christ fasted for 40 days in the desert, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. During his fast, Jesus was tempted by Satan three times.
The temptations were: To make bread out of stones to end his hunger, jump from a pinnacle and rely on angels to break his fall and worship Satan in return for all the kingdoms of the world. Once Jesus denied all three temptations, Satan departed him.
The vices we give up for Lent are our temptations. Once you give something up, you may have temptations to do it. I have temptations to nap after my alarm but I made a promise to myself that I must improve and end this habit.
Fasting is done by many observers of Lent, but the most common is the abstinence of meat on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays throughout Lent. Abstaining from meat once a week is also not an easy task. As we get older, we try to challenge ourselves to overcome habits and temptations like Jesus did in the desert.
When fellow St. John’s students were asked what they gave up for Lent, their answers ranged from social media to sleep and sugar.
I will not give up social media because that is where I get all of my news from. Sugar is a tough one to give up because it’s in everything that I like to consume, like Starbucks’ Strawberry Acai Refresher.
Jesus challenged himself for 40 days and Satan tempted him with three offers that seemed too good to be true.
But Jesus had total confidence in God and ultimately denied Satan’s temptations.
My questions to you are: What are you giving up for Lent, and how are you doing with it?
