What’s the point of Lent? That’s a question worth asking given that many Christians seem opposed to traditions not found in Scripture. (Of course most people have no problem observing Christmas. The Puritans rejected the holiday for the same reason some contemporary Christians reject Lent…it’s not biblical.) My friend Bob Hyatt has posted his thoughts about Lent on his blog. Here’s an excerpt:

So what is Lent about for me?

Learning to say no. It’s about detaching from many of the things I have attached to unthinkingly, not because they aren’t valuable or are necessarily bad for me, but so that I can look at my life, assess what my real priorities are and begin, when this period is over, to reattach to certain things more thoughtfully. And perhaps, leave some things behind that I’m probably better off without.

Lent is about repentance (changing your mind). I guess I really don’t NEED a carmel macchiotto a day, do I? I guess I can’t follow 6-10 TV shows- maybe only 2-3. I guess this money would be better off going to the poor, and that time better off going to my family…
At a certain point during the next month (I’m doing some graduated fasting for Lent), I’ll even unplug from Facebook and Twitter… why? Why unplug from community?

Read his entire post here.