Sacrifice, going back to the days of Moses, who instructed the Israelites in the practice of self-denial by literally sacrificing animals from their flocks, giving up the first and best to God, was re-defined by the apostle Paul as offering of ourselves as "a living sacrifice" (Rom 12:1). What the Holy Spirit revealed through the apostle, however, was less of a giving up as it was a giving in.
To give up something for a 40 day fast as a discipline has some value but only if manifests the surrender of one's heart to God, only if it reflects and operates from a place of love and devotion to God rather than a tradition to uphold or an exercise to endure.
Do you really suppose that God is moved by the simple fact that one does without carbs or survives with social media or gives up television for 40 days? Do you thinks that those acts have any real value in and of themselves? Is God really grooving on our giving up something temporarily that most of the world lives without everyday?
He might be - if it really means something to us, if we are seeking to set something aside so that we can draw closer to Him, focus more closely on the sacrifice of Christ and grow deeper in our commitment to the Lord. A 40 day fast from whatever might really be of value if we are trying to be more perfect in surrender to God and not just more pious in enduring a sacrifice for our traditions.
Lent is a tradition, neither good nor bad in and of itself. The 40 days of fasting is likewise has no intrinsic value. The real question is whether one is enduring a sacrifice or engaging in surrender. Are you just giving up goods for a little while or giving in to God for good? Jus' Ask'n.
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