What are you giving up for Lent? We may hear this question often just before Ash Wednesday. Many church denominations encourage giving something up for Lent. The The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod puts it this way:
I've been reading more and more about people suggesting there's no way that giving up chocolate or beer can ever compare to the sacrifice of Christ and suggesting that the time might be better spent starting a new devotion and prayer habit. Perhaps people can get together and read the same devotional for the 40 days of Lent. Have them commit to setting aside time everyday for the 40 days to read and get together each week on a video chat or group phone chat to talk and pray. The group can either keep a list of people or things they want to pray as they read, or they can take the time to write their own prayer to speak to God from their heart everyday. At the end of the 40 days check in with each other and see how this has or hasn't affected your lives or if their outlooks have changed in some way. This may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship with prayer time!"Lent is just around the corner. Are you planning on giving up something for Lent, as some denominations require? From the perspective of the LCMS, "giving something up for Lent" is entirely a matter of Christian freedom. It would be wrong, from our perspective, for the church to make some sort of "law" requiring its members to "give something up for Lent," since the Scriptures themselves do not require this. If, on the other hand, a Christian wants to give something up for Lent as a way of remembering and personalizing the great sacrifice that Christ made on the cross for our sins, then that Christian is certainly free to do so--as long as he or she does not "judge" or "look down on" other Christians who do not choose to do this."
If giving something up truly brings you closer to God then by all means, do that. But if not, try something that will!
