Ah Lent....Ah Yes! "Give It Up For God!"

Okay, this is a subject that I think, many times, individuals look at differently. I grew up Catholic. I haven't been Catholic in over 35 years. I quit going to the Catholic Church for the very spiritual reason of: I had to wear a dress and I couldn't wear pants. I was 15.

Anyway, I don't recall giving anything up for Lent as a child. I strongly suspect, that if I did, I usually gave up after one or two days and went back to being the spiritual sluggard that I was as a child. When I got "saved" and began going to Charismatic Churches, "fasting" was looked on as "legalistic". It was something only traditional churches did. Then when I began going to a "seeker sensative" Nazarene Church, I gave up TV one Lent. It was very difficult because it was during the 2nd season of "Survivor". Anyone who knows me, I am a die hard "Survivor" addict. My Mom and Aunt Pauline and all my male relatives are crazy about football. I am just as crazy about "Survivor". I yell at the screen, I talk to the competitors, I moan and groan at their obvious stupidity at believing blatent liars: it's literally a spiritual thing for me. So giving up TV that Lent was a huge for me.

For the past four years I've given up eating solid foods during the day and only eating a meal (or a meal and ten snacks) after 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon. Being a diabetic, I've been very careful to check my sugar, I drink juice and have a glucerna shake for lunch to make sure I keep my sugars in control. Not only has this been good spiritually for me, but it has always been good for me physically.

Now there are those who believe that a person should not go on this type of a "fast" to lose weight. That "fasting" (in the Biblical sense), should be for spiritual reasons alone. I look at it this way. I believe that God created man to be "spiritual" and that we choose to lean toward the "flesh" side of things when we choose to go our own direction instead of God's direction. Eating, for me, is not only "physical", but "spiritual". Why? Because I have made it an "idol". I think about food all of the time. I wake up thinking about it. I plan meals when I should be working. I consume not only food, but cooking shows and recipes and will talk about it with friends and family and acquantices and even strangers with incredible passion and enthusiasm. Now what if I transferred that same passion and enthusiasm to God. I consumed the Bible and planned time with God and talked about Him all of the time. Man, I'ld be a real spiritual giant, wouldn't I. So I feel that when a person "fasts" something that means that much to them, that they deny those things that strengthen the "flesh" and they strengthen the "spiritual" in their lives.

My problem isn't with my outward appearance, it's with how much food I consume and the way I think about it all of the time. So I don't fast to lose weight, I fast to help me control my "eating" and to grown closer to God in the process.

You know what I find strange? I've chosen now to begin a blog focusing on the food I grew up eating. It includes recipes and so I find that I'm still thinking about food. I guess the difference is, I write about it, I don't consume it.

So now that I've said all of this, how are you dealing with Lent? Have you given something up? What do you think?