Dead Horse

Lent.

In the Catholic practice, (I single-out Catholics because it is the most widely known religion that practices what I'm about to elaborate on...) forty days are supposed to be devoted to prayer, reflection, almsgiving and sacrifice in the name of Jesus...called Lent. These forty days are between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. This is a time of gratefulness and gratitude for the ultimate sacrifice made by Jesus Christ. Well, that's what it's supposed to be for.
Now, I'm not Catholic. ...just throwin' that curve ball right now before I continue. I am, however, a Christian. Jesus Christ is, indeed my Lord and Savior. With that said, here's what I think about Lent: We're not only screwing things up MAJORLY, but we're essentially "beating a dead horse." (Please excuse the use of a very bad analogy right there.) I don't practice Lent. Never have, probably never will.
We as children of Christ are supposed to strive to act like Christ, am I right? Well please, for the love of God, tell me where in the Bible Jesus partied it up with his "homies," got slap drunk off his butt, passed out, then decided the next day that it was time to make His sacrifice? WHERE??? This brings me to another point...sacrifice. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice when He brutally died on the cross for our sins, correct? That was to be the "war to end all wars," so-to-speak; the final point to free humans from our ever-bounding sin. Then why, pray tell, are we still thinking we have to sacrifice? Yes, I understand that this is tradition. It's symbolism. It's humbling, humiliating, selfless...ok, ok. ...except for the fact that it's not selfless. What we are really doing is showing God how "great" we are because we gave up cokes for over a month. Get Real! Why are we trying to revert back to the ways before Salvation? Why beat a dead horse?