Lent? Mardi Gras?

About this time last year, one of you asked, "Should we practice Lent?" I thought it would be fitting to revisit the question this week:

From everything I read Lent is a Catholic-based "ritual." In simple terms, it's a time set apart to "prepare ourselves" for the Resurrection (Easter) season. Sounds like a great idea…right? Well, consider the following.

• Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) that was just celebrated this week is the traditional “live it up” time before Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent). The idea here is to sin all you can before you spend the next 40 days repenting. New Orleans officials actually clear the streets on Tuesday (prior to Midnight) to ensure proper respect for the beginning of this “sacred” event we call Lent.


• The following is a quote from a City of New Orleans website: “The observance of "Carnival" (aka Mardi Gras)…was a time preceding Lent when participants delivered themselves up to voluntary madness, put on masks, clothed themselves like specters, gave themselves up to Bacchus and Venus and considered all pleasure allowable. The name carnival is derived from the Latin carnis and vale, ‘farewell to the flesh’, because at that time people took leave of flesh. The carnival of the modern world is nothing more or less than the [tradition] of the Christian Romans who could not forget their pagan festivals.”


• The Catholic church instituted Lent and often claims that our “Apostolic church fathers” practiced this period of “fasting and repentance.” Most historians disagree with this conclusion.

Where am I going with all of these random facts? Hopefully you see the connection between a man-made “holy” event and the fleshly outworking of its Pharisaical observance. Does this mean holidays are bad? Certainly not. However, when any day is mandated by humans (no Scriptural support) as sacred with strict rules and guidelines, have we not reverted back to the days of the Pharisees? What we see happening at Mardi Gras is exactly what happens every time legalistic ritual becomes the focus in place of the sufficient Scriptures themselves.

Is it unbiblical to practice fasting and repentance? Obviously not. Is the time before Resurrection Sunday a great time to prepare yourself and examine the heart? Absolutely.

BUT, please be careful to not just “go through the motions” because it’s Lent. That’s like saying “I’m going to pray today because it’s the National Day of Prayer.” The special time may be a reminder, but it’s not the reason! Be careful to avoid following the teachings of an apostate church and the “traditions of men.” Be careful not to violate Jesus’ guidelines of fasting and worship (Matt. 6:16-18). Be careful not to judge someone too harshly based on their decision on Lent (Romans 14:1-6).

If it sounds like I'm avoiding a definite answer to the question, rest assured that it is my intention to do so. Now, you tell me…should we practice Lent?