Get a FREE Donut

Last Fall I paid $20 towards a fund-raiser for the Ellington-Somers Knights Football Team.  Now before any of you wonder why I didn’t contribute to the Rockville Rams Football Team, let me explain.  First, I live in Ellington … by about 150 yards … and second, it was someone from the Knights who knocked on my door and not someone from the Rams.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  Anyway, in return for the $20 I got a plastic card listing the potential savings that can be had if I were to visit one of the participating establishments listed on the back. 

At the very top of the list is Dunkin Donuts, and whenever I visit the one down on Route 83, I get a FREE Donut with the Purchase of any Medium Beverage.  Needless to say, I have tested it out on a number of occasions, and it has worked like a charm every single time.  But what has that got to do with anything, well I’ll tell you … I have decided to give up the use of my Ellington-Somers Knights Football Team “Get-a-FREE-Donut” card for Lent!!!

Just kidding!  I’m not that dumb … nor am I near a spiritually-minded as the rest of you.  If I’m going to give up anything for Lent, I’m certainly not going to give up donuts.  Instead, I would give up something like broccoli, or maybe Brussels sprouts, or something more appetizing like that.  If I give up donuts then I would spend my whole Lenten season thinking about the donuts that I’m missing, and wishing my whole life away until Lent is finally over.  Instead, I’ll give up something that won’t cause me to be obsessing like that for the next six weeks.

Seriously though, let’s talk about Lent a little bit … and what would be some of the more appropriate things to actually do … or not do … if you were inclined to do or not do anything.  To answer that, let’s first ask ourselves, what is Lent really?  Well, according to Wikipedia … “Lent is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar of many Christian denominations that begins on Ash Wednesday and covers a period of approximately six weeks before Easter Day.”  Another way of putting it is to say that Lent is the 40 non-Sunday days leading up to Easter Sunday.

So basically, because it leads up to Good Friday (the day Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world) and Easter Sunday (the day Jesus rose from the dead), Lent is generally considered a pretty important time in the church calendar.  So presumably, people decide that they are going to do very important things to be more spiritually-minded during those 40 days … like not eating donuts … or in my case … not eating broccoli.

Now, having defined Lent, let’s talk about some things we could do that would actually lend some real significance to our lives at this time … beside donuts or broccoli.  For one, how about committing to reading a couple of the Gospels, which tell the story of Jesus’ life and ministry and which all end with the account of His crucifixion and resurrection.  Matthew has 28 chapters, and Mark has 16 chapters, so if you started reading tomorrow, and you read one chapter a day, you would be done by Easter.  Or how about Luke which has 24 chapters, and John which has 21 chapters … one chapter a day beginning tomorrow and you would again have them done by Easter.

Giving up broccoli is easy … and even giving up donuts … though a little harder … is still relatively easy.  But neither one of those things is going to improve your understanding of and appreciation for how much God loves you and how much He wants to have a personal relationship with you … both now and forever.  But reading a couple of the Gospels during the next six weeks might help to accomplish that.  In other words, don’t give up eating something for Lent, decide instead to eat something for Lent … decide to feed yourself once a day on the Bread of Life … the Word of God … for the next 40 days.  You may not lose weight … but at least if you do gain something it will probably be something of eternal value.