I’m a Protestant and I observe Lent.

For those of you not familiar with Lent, it is the time between Ash Wednesday (a day 46 days before Easter) and Easter Sunday. The day before Lent is Mardi Gras, as a last celebration before the season begins. During Lent, Christians give up something or ad something of value in their lives to help them focus on Jesus. There are other traditions, such as no meat on Friday and times of fasting and prayer.

The idea of Lent is slightly controversial for non-Catholics, particularly Protestants. Some of my Protestant brethren view Lent as a “popish tradition,” as during the Reformation Era and the years that followed it featured the newly formed Protestant denominations In fact, sometimes my church did not conduct Lenten services, such as Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday. As a Protestant, I believe that it is perfectly fine to engage in Lent; however, we must be doing it for the right reasons, and not for personal benefit.

For starters, Jesus died for those who believe in Him, which applies to almost every Christian denomination. Lent allows us all time to think and reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus, and give up a habit that distracts us or add an activity that helps enrich our lives as Christians. For example, I gave up Facebook for Lent, though Sundays do count as cheat days, since they are not part of Lent. However, there are a few stipulations that I need to put in place, and they are that I still have Messenger, in case someone needs to get ahold of me, and I will be on Facebook on my birthday. I also started five days late and will be making up these days later on.

Facebook is a big deal for me, as I post a lot, and not everything that I see on there helps me become a better person and a Christian. It is a distraction from so much, especially time that I could be using to grow my relationship with Christ.