It isn't about the giving up...

Many people 'give up' stuff for Lent.  TV, Facebook, all types of food food.  (What did people give up before technology?)...  people give up complaining, excuses, criticizing.

I think there are more important questions than what you give up.  Rather it is WHY do you give it up?  And what do you fill it with?  Because giving up complaining for a month is all well and good but well, we shouldn't do that anyway.. right?   Yet still that is not a bad thing to give up in order to build a new habit!!!  (I should probably add the complaining to the fast list for Lent.) And when we get rid of anything we need to fill it with good. This is Biblical.

And it gets down to heart issues I think.  And we must not judge how and why others fast.  It is personal.  There are oodles of scriptures about not judging but the one that comes to mind with food is

The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Romans 14:3

-------At this point put in a record scratching stop sound effect  in your head.. or play the following------
                                             Go ahead.. play it.

I wrote everything above at the beginning of Lent but I didn't finish the post.  Although I did give up some things, and I'm not doing bad at the GIVING UP,  it is the filling up with other GOOD stuff that is the issue.  Thanks be to GOD that Easter is all about Him.  And in the failure I am finding part of my problem.. of course it can't be done on our own strength.  Each time I obey and succeed I know it is by His effort.  Each time I neglect obeying and fail, I fall on the cross and am thankful for His grace.  Even this,  I am not good at and it is a process for me.  To truly understand that He loves me like crazy.  He wants to help me, to bless me and I need do nothing but obey and receive His love.  And not in that order.  He loves us first... and then we can obey, and love others as He commanded.  I hope I can come out of Lent with a bigger understanding of that.