Image: Stephen Smith / OpenBible.info

The Season of Lent: Six Weeks for Improving Yourself

This may have happened to you. You are out with your friends, and suddenly one of them trades in their favorite beverage for a lemonade. And then it occurs to you: Lent!

Giving up something for Lent is ultimately a form of fasting. We can deprive ourselves of some small pleasure or indulgence and ultimately “give up” as a way of turning our lives toward what God wants.

Lenten Deprivation as Self-Improvement

So why do non-believers choose to deprive themselves during the season of Lent? I think fasting has become the “norm” for many individuals. Often, people will fast once or twice a year in an effort to become more healthy and lose weight, for example. Perhaps fasting, if done with your PCP’s blessing, is not a bad thing. But we are not here to talk about fasting.

Lent can be a time to give up something you really enjoy, like that daily latte. Or it can be a time to give up that bad habit, like overuse of your cell phone that distracts you from the important people you are with in real time.

What are the most common things to give up for Lent?

According to Life Way Research, who surveyed 1,600 tweets, alcohol topped the list for the first time. However, what you give up doesn’t have to be a physical thing. What about getting rid of a bad behavior?

What if you “gave up” anger? What if every time you wanted to lose control, you instead went for a walk or identified and used one of the many tools we educate people on in our 8-week Anger Class? How would this change your relationships and your life one year or even five years down the road?

Lent can be your opportunity to better yourself

Habits are hard to break but with the right motivation, support, and God-fearing tools (had to sneak this in there), you will be successful. I invite you to learn more about our popular Anger Management group. Please share what you are giving up on our Facebook page so that we can cheer you on!