You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24
“The moment we put off the old self and put on the new self, we will be free from the sense of ownership, and our mind will be directed by the will of God. The text says that the new self is created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Christ-centered generosity is a life lived in accordance with the direction of the Holy Spirit. God puts all the resources in our hands so that we might give generously to help others and expand the kingdom of God.”
Edison Queiroz in “Generosity: Latin American Perspective” in Christ-Centered Generosity: Global Perspectives on the Biblical Call to a Generous Life (Colbert: GGN & KLP) 126-127.
Fasting in Lent is more than forgoing food. It’s about putting of the old self so we can put on the new self. Queiroz rightly echoes the Apostle Paul in announcing that this new self is “created to be like God.”
Many are quick to go do acts of generosity in Lent with their old self. Some even think God is pleased with such acts. That’s not how it works. To such people God says: I don’t want your sacrifices—I want your love; I don’t want your offerings—I want you to know me” (Hosea 6:6)
I like to call Lent the “Spring Training” of life because “we are made new in the attitude of our minds” so everything changes. As we walk in obedience, true righteousness and holiness abounds in and through us. We live into the realization that all we are and all we possess has been entrusted to us for serving others and expanding God’s kingdom.
Now do you see it? Our fasting, our giving, and our praying (in Lent and long after it is over) are not sacrifices that win God’s favor, but rather (in MLB Spring Training language) they are “workouts” and “exercises” for learning a new way of thinking and living.
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