I know, I know, I am probably one of a few thousand that have started to write about lent today. This will be the first time that I have actively participated in lent. I have always known about it but I have never tried to give something up during this 40 day period. So, what I've decided to give up is watching basketball on T.V. This is going to be hard. When I say hard, I mean EXTREMELY HARD! I'm starting to wonder WHY I decided to do this. I'll have to start at the beginning to give you the reason why it's going to be a monumental struggle.
From the time I was a young chap, my brother and I pretty much breathed, ate, and dreamed sports. We couldn't do anything without making it competitive and we are still that way. I remember in college, to keep us accountable for our grades, we said whoever had the lower GPA had to buy the other a pair of shoes. I lost and I still haven't bought him those shoes and if he reads this he'll probably try to swindle me out of a pair of shoes. Anyway, the sport I latched on to was basketball. I loved basketball and still do! I mean I can play it all day and all night and then watch it into the wee hours of the morning. I dreamed of becoming an NBA player. Obviously that didn't happen but I was fortunate enough to play in college. That fueled my love for the sport. For about 9 months each year I was completely immersed into basketball. Day in, day out. Are you getting the picture of why this is going to be sooo hard for me!?!?! It hurts writing these words.
I was raised in a Christian home and my Dad is a pastor. My church never emphasized lent as much growing up. I learned about it in school and the church I attend now observes it. It reminds me of a long fast. My Dad use to practice fasting on a regular basis and I don't know if he told me this exactly or I summized this in my own head about what it means to fast. I feel like I remember him saying, "If it doesn't hurt than you really aren't sacrificing anything." That is so true! Making a sacrifice isn't suppose to be easy. It's suppose to cost something and it's suppose to mean something.
When I thought about giving something up for lent, watching basketball was the first thing that popped into my head. I thought it was a crazy idea. As I'm writing and thinking about it, I can see how it consumes me! I watch it any where from 3-5 hours on any given night and on Saturdays and Sundays it's even more! It's crazy. Even tonight at our Ash Wednesday service our pastor joked around about guys giving up basketball for lent and I said, "Crap! I guess this really means I need to give it up." I'm a firm believer of everything happens for a reason and I fought with that the whole ride home rationalizing with my wife and in my head of why I don't need to give up watching basketball mainly because MARCH MADNESS is coming up. I guess denial really is the first step to admitting you have a problem!
Anyway, in the grand scheme of things my "first world problems" aren't even that big of a deal when I think about it. There are tons of folks around the world that don't even have a T.V. to watch or let alone the freedom to celebrate this season of lent. When I sit and reflect on the problems of the world I see how petty my "problems" are. I could definitely be overshooting it here but I don't think I am. There's much more to life than watching basketball.
-Keeping Up With The Joneses
