A Negativity Fast

This Wednesday begins a season of the year which some Jesus-followers recognize.  It's called LENT.  Lent is a period of time of about 40 days (excluding Sundays) leading up to the observance of the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.  During this time, many who follow Jesus engage in prayer and meditation, focusing on the enormity of Jesus' sacrifice, and his limitless passion for us.  Many Christians engage in acts of sacrifice and service in recognition of this, and in an effort to manifest the image of Jesus.  Some of those sacrifices are called "fasts" - giving up something for Lent.  People have been known to go without certain foods, meals altogether, specific activities, luxuries, etc. or to sacrifice money, time, or whatever.

People in the church of which I am a part have sacrificed all kinds of things during Lent.  I was thinking about what we should sacrifice this Lent, when I heard this idea from a friend of mine - Matt Branum of Charleston, Missouri.  He suggested we need to fast NEGATIVITY.  Wow, I thought, if there's one thing we need to give up for Lent 2014 and for always, it's negativity.  We're awash in it; so much so that I'm afraid we're  becoming immune to it.  Politicians completely abandon statesmanship and make negative onslaughts into business as usual in our national politics.  Cyberspace gives hurtful, caustic, negative thoughts a world-wide forum.   Both the news media and consumers of the media feed on negativity for than positive and hopeful dimensions of life.  Road rage is at an all time high.  We'd rather sue each other than work it out with each other.  Irritated theater patrons shoot other patrons.  Churches all over the land spend more time battling over worship styles, music preferences, and the color of the new carpet than they battle to seek and save the lost.  I'm ashamed of how many times I had the choice to think positive thoughts and use positive words, and defaulted to the other direction.

Great spiritual lead, Matt Branum!  Let's just give it up for Lent.  Fast negativity.  The world we're called to reach has no shortage of negative energy.  Let's do something different.  Consciously capture every negative thought, word, and/or action; confess it and release it to The Lord.  Replace it with humility and joy.  (See Philippians 2:1-10.)   Get an accountability partner who will ask you how you're doing with releasing negativity.  Keep a journal and take a fearless spiritual inventory at the end of each day - where did you consciously release negativity and where did you give in to it?

And when the world around you gets toxic, and it's just too easy to let a negative spirit take hold in your life and heart, think about this motivation.  God has every reason to give in to a negative spirit.  We, the creatures God created in God's own image, turn our backs on God and break God's heart with reckless abandon and self-centered delight.   Yet God CHOOSES to give up a more than justified negativity.  Jesus, crucified and risen, is the living proof of that.  More than anything, that's what the Lent journey is about.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.