In today's culture, personal independence and "doing
our own thing" are celebrated. Advances in readily available
technology have given us a growing variety of options for how each of us can
indulge ourselves. Think how credit cards, the refrigeration of food and
the internet, just to pick three widely applied technologies, create
opportunities to satisfy our personal wishes. They did not even exist until
recent decades.
So, we are presented daily with more and more ways to
satisfy our personal appetites, and even to develop new appetites. Is
there an upper limit? For some, it is simply the limits of time and
money. For all of us, however, there remain choices to be made. One
of the choices always is to skip some particular temptation, or not.
Whether that will be a hard-to-make choice depends on the extent of our self-control.
Putting it another way ---- when are we willing to try some self-denial?
What are "self-control" and
"self-denial"? Are they not the same thing when we are facing
"temptation"? A popular definition of both terms is:
exercising the ability to override impulses in favor of longer-term
goals. The heart of the problem seems always the same ---- the
conflict between short-term rewards (which we seem hard-wired to greatly
value) and longer-term goals (which often seem to have no present
value ---- only a future value). A slice of just-baked apple pie placed
right in front of us, in other words, is simply a lot more compelling than a
long-term desire to be slim.
But we need to keep strong our ability for
self-control and self-denial. There will always be times when we need
them. We understand that one cigarette, or one more glass of wine, or
just one hour of procrastination, will have no material effect in the long
run. Except that, the first exception may lead to another, and we eventually
find ourselves in some place we never intended to be.
Fortunately, the conscientious practice of our Christian
faith reinforces our ability for self-control and self-denial. It helps
us find the necessary balance that each of us needs in our daily lives.
We are not the only ones who needed self-control and
self-denial. Jesus was able to demonstrate and strengthen his
self-control and self-denial by fasting in the desert for 40 days. The
Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke describe his 40 days of fasting before the
beginning of his public ministry. During this time of fasting, Jesus
endured temptation by the Devil. Indeed, sometimes don't we feel we are
being tempted by the Devil as we attempt some kind of self-denial!
But, more importantly, the attitude of Jesus during his
gruesome crucifixion, is perhaps the greatest story of self-denial in human
history.
Importantly, we need to balance the mere satisfaction of our
personal appetites, with a second thing ---- with the giving of ourselves to
others. Giving of ourselves to others is actually another form of
self-denial ---- denying ourselves the luxury of just coasting through
life. Further, we need to continue seeking additional ways to give of
ourselves to others. It doesn't just happen. We need to ponder
regularly what these new ways might be.
The strengthening of our own discipline for appropriate
denial of appetites and the giving of ourselves to others is so important to
Christians, that long ago we adopted an annual period of reflection on the
nature of Jesus Christ's sacrifice. We call this period Lent.
We observe Lent for the six weeks leading to Easter Sunday. This year it
extends from Ash Wednesday on February 10, to Easter eve on March 26.
During Lent, believers prepare themselves for Easter by
paring down their lives through fasting, giving up luxuries, showing penance or
their sins, and "giving alms" (donating money, time and talent to
charities, or taking part in charity events). All of these actions are
forms of "denial of self."
Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing
ashes on the foreheads of worshipers as a reminder and celebration of human
mortality, and as a sign of mourning for Jesus's sacrifice and our repentance
to God. Ash Wednesday is not only a day of fasting, but also a day of
contemplating one's own self-centered transgressions ---- a day of
repentance. The first day of Lent (Ash Wednesday) comes the day after
Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday"), the last day of the
"Carnival" season, famously celebrated each year in New
Orleans. The day before Ash Wednesday, therefore, in popular lore, is the
last day to indulge in the vices and luxuries one has planned to give up for
Lent.
Abstinence and fasting during Lent is a form of penance, but
we also need to use this time to reflect on and take stock of our spiritual
lives. Perhaps Lent is not just about "giving up things."
It may be a good time to begin practicing some new, longer-term, positive
attitudes. as well as denial of some of the attitudes and appetites we were so
comfortable with in the past.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult
Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal
spiritual growth this winter at CPC.
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