Yes, I am one of the faithful, which doesn't seem to be a very fashionable thing in many circles, but I roll with the Lord anyway. I am aware of why so many people are disenchanted with so many Christians, and frankly, so am I. Too many break a very fundamental lesson imparted to us by the the big J.C. himself: "Judge not, lest ye' be judged."What really slays me is that many of the these people will defend themselves - repeatedly - claiming they aren't judging at all, merely pointing out - repeatedly - what is in scripture. Sure, remind someone every day that they're going to hell, and it that isn't judging at all. That's assuming they are in tune with the mind of God personally, and that he is incapable of changing his mind from what was written down nearly two thousand years ago. Some even forget other fundamental lessons in scripture: "They who are without sin may cast the first stone," and "one should seek to remove the plank from their own eye before they try to remove the speck from their neighbor's eye." Not exact translations, but I'm not in the mood to look it up for exactness. You get the point I hope.
Not that this is meant to be preachy, but today is Ash Wednesday. And today marks the beginning of the 40 days of Lent; a time for many things, sacrifice included. Though sometimes I often commit to doing certain acts or task instead of/in combination with giving things up, this year I'm focusing on the sacrificial side of Lent.
What I'm giving up this Lent:
- Pizza that is not homemade (and buying a frozen pizza to bake at home doesn't count)
- Pizza like things: i.e. Marco's Cheese Bread, and so on
- Potatoes; most especially mashed potatoes and french fries, stuff I don't like but will gorge on
- Alcohol aside from Saint Patty's Day
- I'm also going to limit the amount of Pop I drink, not a major deal, but I do drink too much
Yes, they're all food/drink items, but they're stuff I eat or drink with reckless abandon if in front of me. Potatoes will have some leeway as well, but things like french frieds or mashed potatoes could be swapped out for cole slaw or a house salad. Pizza, particularly "hot and ready" from Little Caesar's, is a curse. I'll easily kill a half of the pizza in a sitting, sometimes more.
Dietary sacrifices, but if you know, you'll know that it will take some strength. And if I can stick to it, I'll have won a small battle against the bulge. I'll have defeated several of my food weaknesses. Now....if only I could cure myself of the love of bacon and Bareman's chocolate milk. Won't happen any time soon, but they're not really a problem. I don't abuse them anyway.
