March 8, 2009
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Lent
I've been away as some of you have noticed, but since it is Lent. Here's a Lenten post!
So people usually give things up for Lent. Chocolate, fried food, video games...etc. Well, I for one don't give up anything. I think that people give up things for the wrong reason. It's funny sometimes. I remember last year someone wouldn't got to a party because there was pizza there, and she had given up pizza for Lent. I've heard people say I'm giving up XYZ because I want to lose 10 lbs. Gah...really??
If truly someone is giving up something because of sacrifice AND the Lenten experience of temptation then I'm all for it. But if someone is simply giving up something for the sake of giving something up? That has no meaning. Furthermore, it's the experience of temptation that is a part of Lent in the first place! Avoiding temptation isn't particularly helpful in this respect.
Alright. Now for some heavier stuff. This actually came about after some discussion about sin. But...here are the questions I pose. God does not tempt humans. I number of passages in the Bible say that clearly. However, God does test you. Test vs. Tempt. One positive, the other negative. James also says that God will not test you to the point of failure. Ok. So why do we fail so many times with temptations? Was it the Devil? Even if it was the Devil (the temptor as in Job), is not God indirectly responsible for the testing/temptation?
For some reason, I have the trial scene from A Few Good Men going through my head. "If your orders are always followed, and you ordered Santiago not to be touched. Then why would he be in grave danger?"
Comments (1)
Yeah, there are a lot of people who don't understand the purpose of Lent and tend to use it like New Year's resolutions, but there are a lot of things people don't get about religion as a whole. You can also do something to improve yourself during Lent, instead of giving up (ex. volunteering at a nursing home, praying every morning, etc.). I usually prefer this route, since good habits stick better.
As far as the God and temptation thing, it's just that nature of free will. God knows we'll screw up; He just expects us to try. I guess the idea that He won't test us to failure is that we're not forced to fail; we give up, and that's our fault. If you tell your kids not to do something and make absolutely certain that they can't possibly do it, what have they learned? They never had the choice at all. And you know eventually they'll do something they're not supposed to, but what does it say about them all the other times when they behave?
I'm no theological expert, and really, I'd probably have to have a lengthy discussion to fully express my perspectives on these concepts. But you raise a good point.
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