If changing your diet or giving up some item of food is not possible for you this Lent, read on to find out seven creative and challenging ways that will allow you to still partake in Lent!
7 Ways To Do Lent That Don’t Involve Food
1. Get Creative For God
Paint a painting, write a blog post, sing a song, make worship music, run for a charity….I could go on. God gave you talents; start using them to bring God to people. Maybe you’re just starting to use your talents or returning to certain talents that God gifted you with after not engaging them for some time. Make the commitment during Lent to discover or rediscover your God-given talents.
2. Forgive Someone With This Unique Method
Ephesians 4:33 – “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Is there someone who has deeply hurt you? Their very face brings up feelings of hurt and betrayal that you have buried somewhere in you. For each day of Lent, write a compliment and pray a Hail Mary for the person. When we are hurt by someone, we cling to the negative aspects of that person. This challenge forces you for 40 days to write down the good about the person who hurt you deeply. It also brings out personal revelations about yourself and your role in the relationship breakdown allowing you to truly account for any hurt you inflicted on the person. Let’s not beat around the bush, this Lent challenge is hard! But at the very least, with this challenge, we may begin the healing process.
3. Compliment Your Social Media Friends
Private message a compliment to a social media friend every day for Lent. Your social media “friends” aren’t just a post on your homepage; get to know them by complimenting them.
4. Tithe
As a college student or someone in a similar financial situation, regular tithing may be out of reach. However, tithing during the season of Lent is achievable. If you are paid weekly, you are taking a small amount of money out of roughly six paychecks. Nowadays, there’s a range of humanitarian and social causes that you can contribute to, as well as your local church.
5. Break A Bad Habit
I am a notorious late riser. Refusing to wake up before 9 am (10 am on the weekends), I never had a morning prayer routine. Ever. This Lent I have committed to getting up at 8 am (remember, small steps), kneeling beside my bed, and reading the daily Bible readings. Let Lent be that first step towards breaking a bad habit.
6. Reach Out
Matthew 25:40 – “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” There are people in church and youth groups who are lonely. There are people lying in a hospital alone. There are people living on the street alone. We all want to love and be loved in return. If you know someone who is lonely, reach out.
7. 5. Break A Bad Habit
A Psalm a day keeps the devil away. The Bible can appear long and daunting to read, but how about starting with one psalm per day? The Book of Psalms is my favorite because it is short and a beautiful piece of literature. Psalms are also very personal: there’s a psalm for each of your emotions, achievements, and burdens.
With these seven suggestions, we hope you can stay motivated and encouraged to live Lent well! We’re praying for you!
