Giving up Cocaine for Lent
““So, what’s everyone giving up for Lent? I think I’ll give up cocaine.” ”
This is a quote from a real conversation. But, is this what Lent is really about? Is it just giving up something that we think is really good, but we also know might be a little bit bad for us?
Short answer: No. Lent is not an exercise in making ourselves better behaved or more clean livin’. I’ll bring you through it all here, and let you figure out what you’d like to make of Lent for yourself.
After we eat all the pancakes, we begin Lent with Ash Wednesday. Here in Belfast, it’s the day you figure out everyone on campus’s religion… well unless you’ve asked about where they went school, and then you’ll already know.
But did you know that Ash Wednesday is not just celebrated by Catholics? Some protestant churches celebrate it as well. It is also the busiest day of church in the whole year. Not Christmas or Easter… but Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday, you come to the front of the church, and the priest or minister puts a “cross” on your forehead with ashes. He might say “Remember, mortal, that from the dust you were made, and to the dust you shall return.” Some people might even say “Remember that you have to die.”
Woof. Not fun words to hear. What does it mean? Why is death part of Lent?
Ashes and dust are meant to be a reminder of a few things. First the Bible says that God created us in his image, but out of dust. This kind of means, we are not special at all- let’s be humble… but at the exact same time, we are incredibly special and given a purpose and meaning in life.
Ashes also represent a low-point or turning point for a person. It is a way to grieve for recognizing wrongdoing. The story of Jonah is a classic example of this. He goes to a city called Ninevah, and all the people there are awful- like murderers etc. But they hear about God, and “repent”- they cover themselves in ashes- even their animals for good measure- to signify that they were sorrowful for their actions. Repentance kind of means, “I can’t go on living my life, on my terms. God created me, and loves me… why am I putting myself at the center of my universe? I want to put God at the center of my life instead of me.”
And we love to ignore our own faults and wrongdoing… we want to cover that up and seem all good. I love this quote from Michael Hidalgo: “Lent allows us to see the parts of ourselves we’d rather leave covered up. It asks us to drag our full self into the light, no matter how dark it may be.” We are meant to look inward and see all the crap that we try to hide… but how do we deal with it? What are we supposed to do with our sin?
Dust and Ashes also represent death. They remind us that we will die, but also that Jesus died. Our western world hates death, and ignores it all the time. In fact, I think that is one of the really interesting things about walking through this pandemic. Our culture doesn’t really know what to do when we are faced with facts and figures of people who have died. We are pretty bummed out to be confronted with death on a daily basis. Ash Wednesday is somber and heavy. We need that reminder though that this life isn’t the end all be all, and that Jesus didn’t just wave a magic wand to forgive us. He died for us.
Life, Death and New Life are key themes through the whole of the Bible. God gives a pile of dust breath and life. We start thinking that our lil’ pile of dust is really the best thing ever, and we rule our own little world. Yet, we’re just dust. We will die and decompose back to earth. Jesus died, but he didn’t turn back to dirt… he laid in the ground for 3 days, and then came back to life. He walked out of his grave, talked to people and then went to heaven. Jesus didn’t do that just to prove he was cool and God. He did that for literally whoever wants to follow Him… to give us new life.
I’m getting ahead of myself… this is Ash Wednesday and Lent we are talking about… not Easter. We tend to want to rush ahead to the end where everything is made right, without taking the time to consider and grieve the ways we try to take control of our lives. That’s why this day is so powerful- it confronts us with death and sin. Ash Wednesday helps us begin Lent with a somber mood, realizing our own mistakes, and ways we try to take control of our life. We remember we are just a pile of dirt without God.
Then we decide what we should give up? Cocaine? Chocolate? Bridgerton?
What we give up is really not the point. Lent is a 40 day lead up to Easter that is meant to give us time to reflect, and practice three things: prayer, fasting and charity.
Maybe this year for Lent, try to pray everyday instead of giving up take-aways. Whether you’ve done it before or not, it’s no big deal. Just give prayer a go, and talk to God like a friend. He really listens to our heartbreaks, fears, dreams, and hopes.
Fasting is what people are doing when they “give something up for Lent”. It isn’t really a way to get closer to God, or to prove to Him or others that we are holy… Jesus really doesn’t like a show-off. The Bible is also really clear that we can’t prove we are holy to God no matter how hard we try.
It’s also not so that we can lose weight, or get rid of a bad habit… like cocaine. Giving something up, is meant to be a small reminder of the massive sacrifice that Jesus gave, by giving up his life. It helps us kind of prepare ourselves for Easter. It re-orients ourselves to focus on Jesus and not ourselves. In a way, fasting during Lent reveals our self-centered-ness, selfish living, self-pity etc. and re-orients ourselves to focus on Jesus.
Charity is the third bit of Lent, and I think the most forgotten about. The Bible talks about a man who essentially was forgiven a massive £1,000,000 debt, and turns around and chokes a guy who owes him just £1,000. He clearly didn’t recognize the insane generosity that was shown to him. So, giving or charity is our opportunity to respond to God’s generosity towards us. We respond to God’s generosity by being generous with others. Again, it doesn’t get you into any “good person club” with God, and it’s not about making your friends think you’re really a great guy… It’s about realizing that life is not just about you.
So my challenge to you with all of Lent, is to not do it for the ritual or for the fun of it. But rather let Lent be a time, you actually explore more of God, pray and do some soul searching. Consider the Life, Death, and New Life that Jesus gives. The best thing you could give up this year for lent, is not cocaine. I’d rather you give up control of your life first, and deal with the cocaine later… Jesus says anyone who gives up his life will be given a new life with Him. A life fully-forgiven, in his family forever.
If you want to chat about any of this reach out. I’d love to hear from you, and share more about the meaning of Lent and it’s implications for us all.
Also if you are seriously addicted to cocaine… here’s some resources that could help: