Lent

[David of Derby]

What I said to upset her was just a joke that went wrong. It was right at the start of our friendship and I didn't know her very well. In fact I had no idea it would upset her. If I had I'd never have said it. She never told me at the time, she said, because I'd already gone when the shock wore off, and when I came back from my last weekend with my ex she found out we'd split up and decided to stick around to support me. Why she made that decision I don't really know, we hardly knew each other and most people, I think, would have seen my broken heart as just punishment for being so insensitive and left me to rot. She didn't do that, however, and I do thank God daily for the blessing of this person in my life.

As for Lent itself, we observe it in the Church of England to symbolically share Christ's deprivation in the desert. Originally it was a time of fasting, when we gave up meat and diary products, but today we usually select one or more things we enjoy, like chocolate, alcohol, and so on, and abstain from them for the duration. In technical terms, the Church gives us the Sundays in Lent off, we're not required to observe the fast on the Sundays, but my mother and I have both carried it on over the first Sunday and intend to do so for the other five. I don't imagine Christ had Sundays off in the desert, anyway...

Thanks for the responses, everyone. My friend has told me I don't have to do anything to make it up to her, but regardless I intend to be a lot more careful when I talk to her.

[Hunterpoet]

You're title says lent. This practice should be done every day of the year, not just once a year for a certain period of time..

OneLight

Lent is a Catholic practice isn't it? This is an interesting topic in itself because my Catholic friend is perfectly ok with drinking herself into oblivion just about every weekend but has "given up" alcohol for Lent because she thinks it will win her brownie points in Heaven. Don't get me wrong, I love her dearly and pray for her daily, I just think it's funny (not haha funny) how hypocritical this tradition is.

Don't mean to offend anyone, just stating an opinion is all.

I hope you now have learned that the celebration of lent is more than a catholic thing. My concern is that you think the tradition is hypocritical, instead of your friends behavior, or rather her thinking.

This may well be a great oppourtunity for you to study and learn the true reasons behind fasting and prayer and use this subject to witness to your friend.

You could also sit with her and discuss the scriptures that caution us on the use of strong drink and explore all the areas of sin we expose ourselves to when inebriated.

Paul tells us to exhort one another when need be.

Grace and Peace

[Guest]

You're title says lent. This practice should be done every day of the year, not just once a year for a certain period of time..

OneLight

Lent is a Catholic practice isn't it? This is an interesting topic in itself because my Catholic friend is perfectly ok with drinking herself into oblivion just about every weekend but has "given up" alcohol for Lent because she thinks it will win her brownie points in Heaven. Don't get me wrong, I love her dearly and pray for her daily, I just think it's funny (not haha funny) how hypocritical this tradition is.

Don't mean to offend anyone, just stating an opinion is all.

A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity

Proverbs 17:17

[KimOC2008]

You're title says lent. This practice should be done every day of the year, not just once a year for a certain period of time..

OneLight

Lent is a Catholic practice isn't it? This is an interesting topic in itself because my Catholic friend is perfectly ok with drinking herself into oblivion just about every weekend but has "given up" alcohol for Lent because she thinks it will win her brownie points in Heaven. Don't get me wrong, I love her dearly and pray for her daily, I just think it's funny (not haha funny) how hypocritical this tradition is.

Don't mean to offend anyone, just stating an opinion is all.

many protestants also observe lent. not as a ritual, or to win brownie points, but as a way of mastering their own fleshly desires. last year i gave up nagging. it did wonders for my relationship with God AND with my husband.

this year i'm giving up the computer and tv in the mornings until after i've finished my bible studying.

it takes 30 days to break a bad habit. 40 days is long enough to exchange a bad habit for a good one that lasts the whole year long.

Christians call this fasting tho, don't they? I think my feelings are mixed because I think we should live as Christians (or Catholics, if that is your preference) all the time and not just at certain times of the year. All I was saying.

[Guest LadyC]

absolutely we should live as christians (i'm not catholic) year round... but we all have weak areas that need some work so that our walk with Christ is strengthened. that's what the whole point of lent is, for those who choose to observe it... to abstain from those weak spots. like i said, it takes 30 days to break a habit, so 40 is more than sufficient for replacing a bad habit with a good one that will last.

remember i said i gave up nagging last year for lent? my goal was 40 days... but here it is lent time again, and i'm still not the nag i used to be. i have moments occasionally, but they're the exception rather than the rule. this year my goal is 40 days of "bible first".... and this time next year i'm expecting to STILL be "bible first" every day, and i'll find another area to work on.

this doesn't preclude us from being able to abstain for 40 days from something at any other time of the year. but for most of us, well, we just don't really give it much though the other 11 months. the fact that this is a season that is commonly observed is somewhat of a reminder, and/or an incentive.

hunterpoet made a good point... i hope that this discussion has helped you to see that your FRIEND is the one exhibiting hypocrisy... there is nothing hypocritical in the tradition of observing lent. it's disciplinary, not hypocrisy. perhaps your friend will break the addiction to alcohol completely during this 40 days. wouldn't that be a blessing? maybe since you aren't observing lent in your own life (and there is no condemnation in that, last year is the first year i ever did), you could intercede in prayer for those of us who are

oh, and to answer your question... the biblical definition of fasting is abstaining from food in order to spend that time in prayer. so abstinance from anything else may be LOOSLY referred to as a fast, it's not really.

[jackie d]

LadyC

oh, and to answer your question... the biblical definition of fasting is abstaining from food in order to spend that time in prayer. so abstinance from anything else may be LOOSLY referred to as a fast, it's not really.

can you show me where this is stated in the bible Lady C as I have often been confused about what fasting is and what it entails...

thank you

[Guest LadyC]

LadyC

oh, and to answer your question... the biblical definition of fasting is abstaining from food in order to spend that time in prayer. so abstinance from anything else may be LOOSLY referred to as a fast, it's not really.

can you show me where this is stated in the bible Lady C as I have often been confused about what fasting is and what it entails...

thank you

i can try.... now that you bring it to my attention, i'm not entirely sure whether it's specified in the bible, or just in the baptist church i grew up in! but i'll see what i can find.

[Guest LadyC]

ok, i did a really really quick search, but i haven't (obviously) had time to study it. check out this link, scroll down to the examples of how people fasted in the Bible, it's about halfway down... and then even further down is a section called "the question of food and water".

http://www.bibleplace.com/fasting.htm

[jackie d]

ok, i did a really really quick search, but i haven't (obviously) had time to study it. check out this link, scroll down to the examples of how people fasted in the Bible, it's about halfway down... and then even further down is a section called "the question of food and water".

http://www.bibleplace.com/fasting.htm

okay and thank you

[David of Derby]

absolutely we should live as christians (i'm not catholic) year round... but we all have weak areas that need some work so that our walk with Christ is strengthened. that's what the whole point of lent is, for those who choose to observe it... to abstain from those weak spots. like i said, it takes 30 days to break a habit, so 40 is more than sufficient for replacing a bad habit with a good one that will last.

remember i said i gave up nagging last year for lent? my goal was 40 days... but here it is lent time again, and i'm still not the nag i used to be. i have moments occasionally, but they're the exception rather than the rule. this year my goal is 40 days of "bible first".... and this time next year i'm expecting to STILL be "bible first" every day, and i'll find another area to work on.

this doesn't preclude us from being able to abstain for 40 days from something at any other time of the year. but for most of us, well, we just don't really give it much though the other 11 months. the fact that this is a season that is commonly observed is somewhat of a reminder, and/or an incentive.

hunterpoet made a good point... i hope that this discussion has helped you to see that your FRIEND is the one exhibiting hypocrisy... there is nothing hypocritical in the tradition of observing lent. it's disciplinary, not hypocrisy. perhaps your friend will break the addiction to alcohol completely during this 40 days. wouldn't that be a blessing? maybe since you aren't observing lent in your own life (and there is no condemnation in that, last year is the first year i ever did), you could intercede in prayer for those of us who are

oh, and to answer your question... the biblical definition of fasting is abstaining from food in order to spend that time in prayer. so abstinance from anything else may be LOOSLY referred to as a fast, it's not really.

To elaborate a bit on what my learned colleague has said, the idea of Lent is a time of self-examination and penitence. It's at this time of the year, as we remember the testing of Christ in the wilderness, that we're encouraged to examine ourselves and try to amend what we see. Abstaining from "worldly pleasures" is just part of that.

Naturally we should be doing this at all times, but the church (and God too, I imagine) knows that we sometimes need to be encouraged to look in the mirror and see the beam in our own eye. It's very easy to examine each other, isn't it? Lent encourages us to look inward, see what we really are and ask God's forgiveness and help in changing our ways. It's not just some silly, hypocritical ritual, although there'll always be those who observe it because they're expected to, rather than because they believe in it.