This time of year tends to bring a lot of talk of religion, particularly in years where Passover and Easter coincide. Perhaps this is controversial, particularly since I do not endeavor to practice a religion of my own, but whether it's Lent or Passover, it seems somehow inappropriate to complain about the things you have given up. These holidays are about sacrifices to mark the much greater sacrifices of those who came before, no? It is a sign of great faith to recognize the hardships of the past with sacrifices of your own. But it seems to me that complaining that your energy level is low due to the dietary changes of Passover or whining about how hard it is to have fun when you've given up beer/chocolate/potato chips/whatever for Lent trivializes your commitment. No one forced you to make this choice and compared to the occasion it marks, it almost seems in poor taste to complain. I see a middle ground in culture (i.e. cooking potato pancakes or hiding eggs), but not in faith.
More posts will be forthcoming soon, I promise. I spend the vast majority of my time thinking about something that I'm a bit concerned about making public just yet.
3 comments:
I've always thought of giving things up as a way to remind you of your faith - something that takes you out of your daily life and reminds you of the sacred. Like a hair shirt, but less painful.
It's odd how complaining about minor deprivations seems to be almost mandated by society, whether it's in a religious context or just personal (like being a vegetarian or not drinking). If you tell someone that you've given up X, the first thing out of their mouth is usually "I can't imagine not have X" or "that must be awful." Then you can either complain along or act like a martyr. Neither of which is especially becoming.
Here's a Lent story I think you'll appreciate. We have friends who gave up pizza for Lent. But they, like a lot of people (I guess? I never heard of this before I moved to the Midwest) "cheat" on Sundays, since Sundays aren't counted among the 40 days of Lent. So they had pizza every Sunday. How is that even giving something up? How much pizza were they eating before?
my mom always said that about sundays during lent too. then again, giving things up in my family was almost purely nominal... to lose weight more than anything ;) i did pretty well with no chocolate this year... 5 lbs ;)
anyway... i agree... i would think that if you are giving something up for the intended reasons, you should be content to not have it. we are just a culture of spoiled wusses ;)
Amen to that. Did Jesus get a break from the desert on Sundays? I think not!
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