Give Up Something Bad for Lent: A Lenten Study for Adults

by James W. Moore

And if your right eye causes you to fall into sin, tear it out and throw it away. It’s better that you lose a part of your body than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to fall into sin, chop it off and throw it away. It’s better that you lose a part of your body than that your whole body go into hell.

Why would people gain the whole world but lose their lives? What will people give in exchange for their lives?

“Get rid of those things in your life that prevent you from walking where Jesus would lead you. Get rid of those things in your life that are not Christ-like!”

He means that anything that is destructive, anything that threatens to destroy us, and anything that seduces us to sin should be ruthlessly and radically cut out of our lives.

Whatever you are doing that is tainting and destroying your life, cut it off, quit it, and give it up before it does you in.

There are certain acts, certain attitudes, certain habits, certain sins that will contaminate, infect, and poison our souls.

Apathy means quitting on life. Apathy means not caring. Apathy means not trying. It’s amazing to me how many people there are in our world today who get discouraged and throw in the towel. If you want to give up something for Lent, give up apathy! Give up negative, cynical, pessimistic thinking.

Apathy is the opposite of commitment, the opposite of faith, and it can ruin your life.

“Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. You’ll receive the same judgment you give. Whatever you deal out will be dealt out to you. Why do you see the splinter that’s in your brother’s or sister’s eye, but don’t notice the log in your own eye? How can you say to your brother or sister, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ when there’s a log in your eye? You deceive yourself! First take the log out of your eye, and then you’ll see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s or sister’s eye.”

First, is it the Truth? Second, is it Fair to all concerned? Third, will it Build Goodwill and Better Friendships? Fourth, will it be Beneficial to all concerned?1

First, beware of false rumors. Second, beware of being unkind.

Jesus said, “A certain man had two sons. The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the inheritance.’ Then the father divided his estate between them. Soon afterward, the younger son gathered everything together and took a trip to a land far away. There, he wasted his wealth through extravagant living. “When he had used up his resources, a severe food shortage arose in that country and he began to be in need. He hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He longed to eat his fill from what the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have more than enough food, but I’m starving to death! I will get up and go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. Take me on as one of your hired hands.” ’ So he got up and went to his father. “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion. His father ran to him, hugged him, and kissed him. Then his son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! Fetch the fattened calf and slaughter it. We must celebrate with feasting because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life! He was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field. Coming in from the field, he approached the house and heard music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what was going on. The servant replied, ‘Your brother has arrived, and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he received his son back safe and sound.’ Then the older son was furious and didn’t want to enter in, but his father came out and begged him. He answered his father, ‘Look, I’ve served you all these years, and I never disobeyed your instruction. Yet you’ve never given me as much as a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours returned, after gobbling up your estate on prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ Then his father said, ‘Son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found.’”

While Jesus and his disciples were traveling, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his message. By contrast, Martha was preoccupied with getting everything ready for their meal. So Martha came to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to prepare the table all by myself? Tell her to help me.” The Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things. One thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part. It won’t be taken away from her.”l

“Lord, make my words sweet and tender today for I may have to eat them tomorrow.”

First, everyone has an empty sleeve that we cannot see, and if we knew about it, we would be more understanding and less critical. We need to be more sensitive to the empty sleeves hidden away in the lives of people. Second, our hard, condemning judgments boomerang. They come back to haunt us. They reveal far more about us than they reveal about the one we are judging.

While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to share a meal with him, so Jesus went and took his place at the table. When the Pharisee saw that Jesus didn’t ritually purify his hands by washing before the meal, he was astonished. The Lord said to him, “Now, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and platter, but your insides are stuffed with greed and wickedness. Foolish people! Didn’t the one who made the outside also make the inside? Therefore, give to those in need from the core of who you are and you will be clean all over. “How terrible for you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and garden herbs of all kinds, while neglecting justice and love for God. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. “How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the most prominent seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces. “How terrible for you! You are like unmarked graves, and people walk on them without recognizing it.” One of the legal experts responded, “Teacher, when you say these things, you are insulting us too.” Jesus said, “How terrible for you legal experts too! You load people down with impossible burdens and you refuse to lift a single finger to help them. “How terrible for you! You built memorials to the prophets, whom your ancestors killed. In this way, you testify that you approve of your ancestors’ deeds. They killed the prophets, and you build memorials! Therefore, God’s wisdom has said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them and they will harass and kill some of them.’ As a result, this generation will be charged with the murder of all the prophets since the beginning of time. This includes the murder of every prophet—from Abel to Zechariah—who was killed between the altar and the holy place. Yes, I’m telling you, this generation will be charged with it. “How terrible for you legal experts! You snatched away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter yourselves, and you stood in the way of those who were entering.”

So give for alms those things that are within; and see, everything will be clean for you” (verses 39-41). The key that unlocks what this is all about is the last sentence. It simply means that if all things within you are done in love, then automatically everything else will be clean as well.

We crucify people with words and attitudes. We destroy people with gossip and pointing fingers.

Blame-shifting is the temptation to rationalize, to explain away, to point the finger at someone else to get the attention off of us.

Let me tell you something. Self-pity can ruin our lives. It depletes us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s an enemy within that can cut us off from God and from people. The good news of our faith is that God loves us and accepts us. No matter how others may treat us, God never deserts us or forsakes us. God is always there for us, and when we feel alone or rejected or hurt, we need to remember that.

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through town. A man there named Zacchaeus, a ruler among tax collectors, was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but, being a short man, he couldn’t because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay in your home today.” So Zacchaeus came down at once, happy to welcome Jesus. Everyone who saw this grumbled, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much.” Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham. The Human One came to seek and save the lost.”

As a matter of fact, in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 in the section we call the Beatitudes, Jesus is really saying to us, “Cultivate these good habits in your life. Cultivate humility, compassion, mercy, righteousness, peace-making. Cultivate these good habits, and you will discover true happiness.”

We see four specific steps that really work: Step one: Recognize your bad habit and call it by name. Step two: Make up your mind to stop it now. Step three: Replace your bad habit with a good habit. Step four: Realize that you have an outside source of strength.

If you love those who love you, why should you be commended? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, why should you be commended? Even sinners do that. If you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, why should you be commended? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be paid back in full. Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return. If you do, you will have a great reward. You will be acting the way children of the Most High act, for he is kind to ungrateful and wicked people. Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate.

“Each day that God gives us is basically like one of these empty bottles. We can choose to fill it with love and life-affirming thoughts and attitudes that lift us and other people up, or we can fill it with destructive poisonous thoughts that pull us—and everyone we meet—down. The choice is ours.” The point of this story leads to a question: How will we fill our days?