Labels and Likes for Lent

Anything good goes up on social media. What a person is eating and drinking to where a person is going to when a person is going to make something major happen; it all goes on social media. Ironically, the time period where this is suspended is Lent.

Just a few weeks ago, I saw photos boasting of Ash Wednesday. Amazing to see it plastered on platforms. Hey guys, I’m giving up something for a period of 40 days, but before I go, check out this cool looking forehead cross. For the record, I am not hating. I just find it hilarious. It strikes me as odd that so many folks posting about their dedication to Lent are doing it for likes and labels. The likes of friends celebrating their coolness. The labels of hip, different, countercultural, or believer being attached to their person with the hope that it won’t fade away once the 40 days is over.

I would love to challenge the religious and spiritual folks to give up likes and labels for Lent. Having symbolically manifested one’s grief for all the things done wrong via a forehead cross, there’s something heavily missing. If the person choosing to engage in the 40 days craze is not a believer in the God of Ash Wednesday, there is not enough recompense that can be made to bridge the chasm of shame of division from an imperfect person to a perfect God.

This is not an easy statement to read and digest. But it is true. The only remedy that bridges that chasm is the one who took on flesh to lift up humanity to God – Jesus. So if this person is giving up things without placing their confidence in him, then their shame has gone nowhere.

If the person choosing to engage in the 40 days craze is a believer in the God of Ash Wednesday, then I would actually challenge the person’s reasoning for taking a break from something. Again, I have no problem in a believer joining in on this long standing tradition. However, it is key to note that belief in the one who took on flesh to lift up humanity to God is what bridged that chasm. He’s the only mediator between God and man whereby the two can be reconciled.

So labels like belief in God’s son is something that ought to never be given up for Lent. And likes for the work that God’s son has done in ultimate completion is something that ought to never be given up for Lent. All the other labels and likes are up for grabs in my opinion.

So pray, fast, and give as you see fit. Encourage others who have signed up for this tradition. Think through the person and work of God’s son while doing all three. And I can only hope that after 40 days, belief and trust in Jesus is the result.