Cheeseburgers for Lent
This past Sunday, I briefly recounted the history of Lent. Lent started out as a 2-3 day rigid fast. Over time, the practice has lengthened and broadened. Last week one of my professors told my class that some of us need to eat a cheeseburger every day during Lent. Or perhaps we should make cookies every morning. In the early church, no one would dare eat a cheeseburger during Lent. It contains meat and a product made with milk. So why would my professor suggest such a strong break with tradition, and a seemingly unhealthy one at that?
Wouldn’t eating a cheeseburger every day be bad for me? That question is precisely why some people should eat more during Lent, and maybe even eat a cheeseburger every day. Now when I say cheeseburger, I’m not thinking about drive-thru mediocrity. I’m envisioning a grilled beef patty, a thick slice of sharp cheddar cheese, a fresh slice of tomato, a little lettuce, and some barbecue sauce. I hope that description whet your appetite for a good burger, even if your preferences are slightly different. Unfortunately, the thought of eating a good burger is often accompanied with a sense of guilt.
Our culture does not have a healthy relationship with food. Growing up, I heard so many adults ask why “bad food tastes good and good food tastes bad.” The idea that some food is “bad” is so embedded in our way of thinking that we rarely question it. I think it’s an assumption in need of scrutiny. Should we classify any food God has provided us as bad? Is not all food a blessing?
“I encourage you to take a few minutes and ask yourself what causes you to feel guilty. What does your guilt teach you about how you see yourself? And here’s the big question. Does your view of self align with how God sees you?”
God provided us food for both survival and enjoyment. As baptists and southerners, we understand this. Pot lucks are a part of our identity. I have heard many of you mention the desire to start having fellowship meals again soon. Food can bring people together. Food can also tastes really good. Food can be a blessing in more ways than one, and God does not give us blessings to make us feel guilty. God blesses us because God loves us and wants us to be happy.
So, what does this have to do with Lent? I think we should take a moment to consider the role of guilt in our lives. Do we feel guilty about committing moral indiscretions, which is precisely what should cause guilt, or do we feel guilty about other things? Do we feel guilty about trivial matters? Do we feel unworthy of receiving God’s blessings? Do you feel guilty about not starting Lent on time and assume there is no point in starting now?
I encourage you to take a few minutes and ask yourself what causes you to feel guilty. What does your guilt teach you about how you see yourself? And here’s the big question. Does your view of self align with how God sees you?
Lent is an opportunity to re-align our minds with the mind of the Christ. Part of that process is learning to see ourselves the way God sees us. For me, that means letting go of guilt that originates from an ungodly view of myself. It means resisting the temptation to feel guilty for not being fully prepared to start Lent on Ash Wednesday. What does it mean for you?