Luxurious Negativity

I went to mass tonight with a dear friend only to discover it is the first Sunday of Lent.  I really only discovered Lent a few years ago when I sought solace at a sweet little Lutheran church in Amarillo.  I was intrigued with the customs, and my friend with whom I attended was intrigued with my ignorance.  What can I say?  I grew up in a church of Christ where we didn’t observe Lent.

On the way home tonight, my friends and I talked about what these guys were giving up for Lent.  Later, the topic came up again with another friend.  It got me wondering why in the world people give things up for Lent anyway.  So, of course, I Googled it and found my answers in Wikipedia.  I feel sure that all of my information is accurate and reliable…

It basically says that it is a time when people fast or give up luxuries as penitence in preparation for the week leading up to the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter.  It lasts 40 days in commemoration of the 40 days Jesus fasted in the garden and was tempted.  The prayers in mass tonight were focused on resisting temptation during this time of fasting.

I find this idea of giving up luxuries sort of intriguing given the life I live.  I’m pretty comfortable.  I have a job I love, a beautiful place to live, plenty of food and clothes, a laptop, an iPad, an iPhone, a new television, and tickets to the P!nk concert Thursday night.  Yeah, I’ve got it pretty good. 

So I was thinking maybe I should think of something to give up.  I recently gave up meat and dairy for the most part, so that won’t work.  Chocolate is simply out of the question.  Television maybe?  But I don’t really watch it much during the week anyway. 

Then I had sort of a random idea that seemed a little silly at first but has grown on me.  What about giving up negativity and negative self-talk?  I wonder if I could give that up for forty days?  The more I think about it, the more I think that negativity and feeling sorry for myself is most definitely a luxury. 

Given all of the material things that I have, what right do I have to complain?  Given that I have the best job on the planet, what right do I have to complain about random, petty annoyances?  Given the amazing friends and family that I have, what right do I have to worry about what other people might think of me?

Negativity is definitely a luxury.  I don’t know if that makes sense to anyone else, but griping and complaining take time and energy.  If you have time to sit around and whine, then you are blessed.  There are many millions of people who work from sunrise to sunset and sleep in between who don’t have the luxury of time to sit around and complain to others.  And there are lots of folks who don’t have true and good friends to complain to.

I am ridiculously blessed.  If the purpose of giving up something for Lent is in preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, what better thing to give up than negativity and self-pity?  It is because of Him that I have reason to celebrate at all. 

And if I am to spend the next few weeks preparing to celebrate His beautiful gift, I think a negativity “cleanse” could be just the thing.  And while I don’t consider myself particularly negative, I think the negative self-talk could be quite a challenge.  Changing the voices in your head is not as easy as you might think.  But I’m going to focus on my blessings and give it a shot.