To Do or Not To Do

When I last wrote something about lent I wrote about going out in the desert.

Often we associate lent with abstaining from things. We say no to cookies or chocolate, don’t watch TV or stay away from Facebook. But really Lent should have much more to do with things we do. Lent should be a time when we focus less on ourselves and more on God and the needs of others.

To give some examples: If we decide to give up cookies, the money we save not buying cookies can be given to charities instead. So, we give up things in order to give our money to people who need our help. If we don’t watch TV or spend time on Facebook we have time to give to others instead. Is there someone who needs a visit? Is there any volunteer work to be done? Also if I don’t spend time watching TV – I have more time to spend with God, reading the Bible or praying.

To me this is the true meaning of Lent. It is not mainly about not doing thing, but about doing different things!