Lent is coming 'what are you giving up'

[MarshMargot1]

What would I give up?

Myyyy.... religion?

[VertOlive]

I'm not a Christian so it doesn't really apply to me.

'Sides which, it's hard to take seriously the sacrifice of anything if you are simply intending to carry on as normal a few days later. It smacks of a lack of serious commitment. Quite apt for our times perhaps.

Forty days is a lonnnnng time. And it is symbolic of something greater. To 'give up stuff' without understanding the meaning behind it is what seems pointless to me.

I would prefer to see those people giving of themselves in the service of others, every day for those 40 days, rather than simply giving up stuff that they probably won't miss anyway - which has often seemed the case.

Understand I am not against any of these things, if they are done with the right intent.

Nota bene: The OP did not ask what we were doing as service, he asked what we were giving up. Beside the six weeks' discipline of denying oneself a small pleasure (in an act of strengthening one's self control and decreasing worldly distraction a bit), you don't know what good we may be doing.

The traditional prescription for Lent is threefold--prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. In addition, we are reminded to keep both penance and good deeds to ourselves unless discussing them with others in order to encourage or teach.