I wish we would recover such a clear and blunt rationale for these good works and devotions that usually accompany Lent. In the end, it is just the other way around. We tend to struggle to find room in our busy lives for anything godly at all. With regular church attendance now meaning once or twice a month and the choice as substitute the online versions that are more easily fit between the appointments and duties and interests of our lives, anything that might approach devotion, Bible reading, corporate worship, catechesis, prayer, and good works must compete to find either the time or the energy left to pursue such Christian virtues. God is under the gun to find room on our calendars and in our hearts. Lent draws attention to this and calls upon us to make the world schedule the appointment and give priority to the things of God.
The reality is that we run out of energy for the good and godly things that belong to faith simply because the rest of the activities of our lives (not all vices and most simply secular and ordinary) steal away all whatever oomph we have left. Truth be told we cannot tear ourselves away from our screens or stay awake long enough to pray much less to develop the Christian virtues under the Spirit to displace some of the room given to routine stuff and the places where temptations lie.
So if you are not already, give priority to the things of God this Lent. There is still time. There are still vices to resist and leave behind in pursuit of that which is true and good, godly and beautiful, noble and worthy. Just a few quick thoughts this morning. . .
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