We are now in the season of Lent, which is a traditional 40-day period before Easter in which people make sacrifices to understand the importance of Easter. While Lent still has a very Catholic connotation, especially with Catholics giving up meat on Fridays or wearing ashes on their foreheads, many Protestant churches also encourage giving something up for Lent.
I began celebrating Lent in high school because a Catholic friend was. After sitting down and thinking hard about what a fast was and why this is an appropriate way to become closer to Jesus, I decided to join in the fun. That year I gave up pop. In subsequent years I gave up chocolate and TV, etc.
In college a Protestant Bible Study leader encouraged us to delve deeper into Lent and give something up that was more meaningful. Giving up chocolate is a fake fallback because it makes us healthier anyways. We should give up something that is standing in our way of God. This led to more serious contemplation and the giving up of time in order to grow closer to God (more prayer, going to daily church, etc.)
Since then, I have heard that we should give up something that is "intrinsically good." Something that is not a problem for us. This goes back to not giving up something that will actually make you a healthier or better person just by giving it up. If that were the case, you should be doing it already anyways, or at least practicing moderation. Perhaps a good example, using this philosophy, is giving up listening to music on the way to work. Now you have more time to pray to God. In addition, if you are not somehow addicted to music, this is an example of giving something up that is intrinsically good (if the music isn't dirty) and not a problem for you.
This Lent I was struck by the power of the season itself. It had never hit me before that much of the Christian world spends 40 days preparing for Easter. That's about 1/9th of the year! We already give up 1/7th of the year on Sundays to go to church.
The power of what Jesus did on the cross, by dying and rising again, restoring us all to life and forgiving us of all our sins, is so great, we think of it time and time again. During Lent, we prepare and contemplate, pray, and fast our hearts out, so that when Easter comes we can actually understand what is being placed before us. But even with all that prepration, we can never fully know.
40 days to think and pray. 40 days to consider your worth in the eyese of God. 40 days to try to wrap your mind around the crucifiction and why it had to happen and what it did. 40 days to learn about this great man. 40 days to draw close to God and attempt to become a better Christian.
This is truly a great season!
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