I never quite understood Ash Wednesday when I was younger.
My home church never emphasized anything about Lent, or even Good Friday for that matter.
In my experience growing up in church, winter was over, spring started springing, then it was time for Easter Sunday! That meant getting up before the crack of dawn, putting on a stuffy white button-up shirt and a new clip-on tie, and going to Sunrise Service at 6:30 a.m. The good thing about that was I knew it would be over soon, and we would have BREAKFAST!
My home church had her share of problems, but eating together wasn’t one of them. And Easter morning breakfast was the absolute King of church meals. By the time we got to the Fellowship Hall and sat down, I had already been “awake” for two hours—way longer than any kid should have to endure not eating. But I knew what was coming, and I didn’t want any corn flakes ruining my appetite for the feast I was about to experience.
“My home church never emphasized anything about Lent, or even Good Friday for that matter.”
The men of the church always brought their A-game—big, long griddles full of pancakes coming off hot, electric skillets full of sausage and bacon spitting hot grease, mounds of scrambled eggs, and biscuits with all manner of butter, jams, jellies, or honey. Men like Larry Karch and Dean Cramner and Don Logsdon would pile all this food on platters and would go back and forth through the tables smiling and laughing, asking if you wanted seconds, thirds, or fourths. If you said no, they’d put some on your plate anyway. They would sneak me extra sausage links and give me permission to stick some in my pockets and save for later. As a child, I didn’t know a lot about heaven, but I figured if it was anything like Easter breakfast, I wanted to go.
Anyhow, back to Ash Wednesday. Which is today, actually, as I write this article.
An Invitation to Decrease . . .
Lots of people observe this day as the beginning of a period of time where they give up a specific thing for the next forty+ days. There are dietary restrictions that some observe, traditions to uphold, and a sense of personal austerity chosen by the believer and not imposed by any church.
Some will give up foods that aren’t exactly good for them. For example, in 2021, I gave up drinking pop (or soda, depending on where you grew up). After forty days of not drinking Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dew, I figured I could just keep going. It was money I felt convicted I didn’t need to spend, sugar that was causing inflammation and pain in my aging body, and if I’m being honest, an addiction that I felt had hold of my heart. So I never started drinking pop again. It’s been almost four years. I don’t miss it. Is drinking Dr. Pepper a sin? No. Did I need to give it over to God as a matter of obedience? Yep.
If you ask me for chapter and verse to justify a season like Lent in the church calendar, I couldn’t do it. But I could point to dozens of scriptures that encourage obedience to the lordship of Jesus when the appetites of this world get a little too much of our loyalties, affections, and priorities. These forty days before Resurrection Sunday invite us to decrease, so that Jesus may increase.
“These forty days before Resurrection Sunday invite us to decrease, so that Jesus may increase.”
I think where we go wrong is when we attempt to follow a set of rules for the sake of tradition and get legalistic about our religion. You’ve probably heard about people who say they’re giving up chocolate for Lent, but then find themselves buying more donuts than usual. When we choose to go without (it’s called fasting), we are also making room for more of God to deal with our fleshly appetites.
There are plenty of things we could spend the next forty days fasting from besides dessert. What if we prayerfully entered a pre-Easter season where we gave up having to have the last word in an argument or conversation? What if we gave up having to be right? What if we turned down the volume of the news cycle that causes strife, anger, and blisters in our soul? What if Lent wasn’t so much a project to become a super Christian, or lose weight, or an attempt to impress God and others with our sacrifices? What if we used it as an opportunity to give up feeling like we needed to have answers or to make sense of everything? How about fasting from regret, self-loathing, or needing approval?
This season is an opportunity to follow the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and join Christ Jesus in simplicity of heart, mind, and wallet. Celebrations and feasts are part of the Christian life, and let’s celebrate and feast in praise and thanks for all God’s goodness. But let’s also be mindful of the parts of us that Jesus wants to carve away.
“This season is an opportunity to follow the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and join Christ Jesus in simplicity of heart, mind, and wallet.”
. . . So That Jesus May Increase
Alicia Britt Chole wrote an amazing book called 40 Days of Decrease. It has been a companion for me each Lenten season for the past few years. I’ve learned from this book that, whatever you decide to give up, don’t just make it about what you’re saying no to. Make sure the empty space you create is filled with more of the presence and the love of God and God’s people. Make sure Jesus provides the contentment you need.
His love is better than the tobacco products you can’t live without.
His presence fills your heart more than the extra “comfort” food you’re used to craving.
His grace gives peace more than the alcohol you feel you need before bed.
His blessings bring more joy than another online shopping spree.
His Word is more nourishing than an endless stream of social media posts.
His forgiveness brings rest better than rehearsing the shame of your past sins.
“Make sure the empty space you create is filled with more of the presence and the love of God and God’s people.”
Please understand, this is not a matter of behavior modification so much as it is allowing God freer rein in our lives. It’s sometimes a matter of choosing what is best versus something that may not be sinful, but is not beneficial. It’s sometimes a matter of uncluttering our lives to remember what’s valuable. Whatever we do, ultimately, we are choosing to make more room for the rule of King Jesus in our daily lives. It takes some strength to choose weakness and then decrease so that He may increase.
But God is faithful to provide.
