Just Give Up

So, what did you give up for Lent? Here’s what I found at “whattogiveupforlent.com”:

What can You give up for Lent?

During Lent, we as Christians are given a unique opportunity to prepare our hearts to receive the Paschal Mystery of Christ (His passion, death, and resurrection). When we give up something for Lent, we endure our sacrifice as a reminder of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on the Cross. When we add something to our daily lives, we experience the sacrifice of carrying our cross in a deeper way. This Lenten season, embrace the call of the Church and of Christ in making room for the Lord in your heart.

In order to decide what to give up for Lent, you should first identify the things in your life that have taken over. Sit down and pray about what has become a controlling factor of your life. It could easily be a food, activity, or object. Once you have determined what you need to remove from your life (even if it is only for the duration of Lent) you can decide if it is something you can or should give up completely or simply decrease its presence in your life. It’s not just a matter of saying, “I really like chocolate, so I should give it up completely.” What you could say is, “I spend far too much time watching television when I should be spending time in prayer or with my family. I am going to decrease my television time and increase the time I spend with my family and with God.” To guide you in deciding what to give up or add for Lent, see the lists below. Allow your decision to be rooted in prayer and strengthened through Christ. Through this season of fasting, prayer, and alms-giving, may we come to know the Lord more deeply and recognize all He gives to us each day.

What is turning our eyes from Christ? How can we give up on the old ways to prepare for a new life in Christ?

(I really like what they are saying here. Not “what is easy for me to give up but shows that I’m a Christian”, but “what is keeping me from Christ”. One point for them)

Things Men could give up for Lent:

• Television (or certain shows)

• The radio (all the time, certain time of day, etc.)

• Favorite foods

• Eating out

• Alcohol

• Soft drinks/caffeine/coffee

• Smoking

• Clutter

• Debt (using credit cards)

• Certain books/magazines (read ones that will help you grow spiritually)

• Social Media sites (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.)

• Computer use/blogging

• Lying

• Swearing/foul language

• Addictions

• Procrastination

• Working overtime (unnecessarily)

Things Women could give up for Lent:

• Television (or certain shows)

• The radio (all the time, certain time of day, etc.)

• Unnecessary spending (clothes, shoes, manicures, etc.)

• Debt (using credit cards)

• Favorite Foods

• Sweets

• Alcohol

• Soft drinks/caffeine/coffee

• Smoking

• Eating out

• Negativity/Stress

• Procrastination

• Gossip

• Lying

• Road rage

• Make-up

• Reliance on certain beauty products

• Social Networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.)

Things Children could give up or add for Lent:

• Television (or certain shows)

• Video games

• Computer (games, social networking, etc.)

• Fighting with siblings

• Being disrespectful to parents

• Lying

• Soft drinks

• Sweets/Candy

Interesting. Wonder how they came up with these suggestions? Things like “road rage” under the “women” column? Seems a bit out of place. Maybe I’m wrong. Don’t get me wrong because I think these are all great suggestions. But if you really want to hear my opinion (for what it’s worth), here it is. Just give up! No, really. Just give up. If you’re looking for something to give up for lent, say “I give up.”

Sounds crazy I know, but not any more crazy then other things people have given up. Last year our youngest son (who was 18 at the time) said he was giving up “hope” for lent. The day after Easter he was in an accident while swimming in the James River. He ended up having seven operations including plastic surgery on his ankle. Not sure how the whole thing ties in, but there’s a lesson there somewhere.

So what do I mean when I say, “Just give up”? I couldn’t possibly mean give up everything that you have, could I? It’s not possible that I mean dump it all!!! Now that’s just ridiculous! But you know, that’s exactly what Jesus expects of us. I agree with one thing in the article quoted above: “you should first identify the things in your life that have taken over.” But it’s much more serious than most of us take it. Because giving up what has “taken over” means giving up everything! Because, like it or not, everything on this earth gets in our way.

Mark 10:28-31

Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.”

So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Matthew 6:25-34

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble".

Matthew 10:34-39

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it".

Matthew 16:24-28

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Ok, so do you get the picture? I don’t think Jesus could have been any more plain than that. You want to give up something for Lent that will make a difference in your life now and forever? Give up yourself! Give it all up. Stop trying to control your life’s path and let the Lord take care of that. That’s what He means when He says, “…let him deny himself…”

Recently the Christian group “MercyMe” recorded a song called “So Long Self”. I find it amusing that it was so popular on the “pop charts”, considering the message of the song. The words are worth looking over:

Well if I come across a little bit distant It's just because I am Things just seem to feel a little bit different You understand Believe it or not but life is not apparently About me anyways But I have met the One who really is worthy So let me say So long, self Well, it's been fun, but I have found somebody else So long, self There's just no room for two So you are gonna have to move So long, self Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me, farewell Oh well, goodbye, don't cry So long, self Stop right there because I know what you're thinking But no we can't be friends And even though I know your heart is breaking This has to end And come to think of it the blame for all of this Simply falls on me For wanting something more in life than all of this Can't you see Don't feel so bad (don't feel so bad) There'll be better days (there'll be better days) Don't go away mad (but by all means) Just go away, go away

Obviously, they get it. You have to give up on your old self and let God create a new you. Sounds good, but it isn’t that easy. I know, I know - how do you just give up everything you hoped for and dreamed about? It sure would have been a lot easier if someone had told us about this earlier. Like, when we were kids. It would have been much easier then because we had less to lose. But now – do you realize how much we have to lose? Do you seriously understand what you are asking of us? Hey, hey – it’s not me who’s asking it of you. If you have a problem with this, take it up with the One who is really asking it of you.

Seriously, though. Now you’re beginning to understand why it is “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven”. See, the more you have, the more you have to give up. And, yes, He expects you to give it all up. Because if you don’t then you are still relying on what you have, not on God and what He has in store for you. And that relationship has to be the most important thing in your life, if your life is to have true meaning. But letting go of that security is the most difficult thing we have to do because we are not sure of what will happen next. And we never will be. That’s what faith is all about – trusting that what God has in store for us is greater than what we have imagined for ourselves. And if we are not willing to give it all up, if we are looking for a compromise from God, then we are offering only lip service, really. In Matthew 15:8 we see that when Jesus quotes Isaiah,

“These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men”.

And when we do this, we are putting ourselves, our ways above those of God. We lack the conviction necessary to keep our relationship with God as the most important thing in our lives and in the process do not take our cross and follow after Jesus and cause ourselves to be “not worthy”. We must be willing to “lose our life for His sake” in order to “find it”. The choice is ours to make.

So what will you give up for Lent? How about yourself – and not just for Lent, but for the rest of your life. What is waiting for you is far beyond anything you can imagine. All you have to do is have faith!