Dr. Tom Pace

Center yourself on today’s reflection by lighting a candle and reciting this breath prayer:
Inhale – May I sense you every moment
Exhale – and make my whole life a prayer.

1 Corinthians 6:12 (NET)
“All things are lawful for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “All things are lawful for me”—but I will not be controlled by anything.

Reflection:
“‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,
‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
“When true simplicity is gain’d,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be asham’d,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.”

Sometimes, we view the Lent as a Debbie Downer season. Indeed, it is a good thing for us to identify with the suffering of Jesus, both in his forty days of fasting in the wilderness, as well as his journey to his sacrificial torture on the cross. In Philippians, Paul tells us that he seeks to “know Christ and the power of his suffering.”   

But the Lenten season has another function as well. It is a time of refining, of refocusing, and of practicing the discipline of simplicity. When we choose to give something up for Lent, it can be a tiny step toward breaking free from the extraneous things that can hold us in their grip. Among the most practical and helpful Scripture verses I know is this one from Paul. I call it “the two-fold test.” While he writes the passage in the context of his admonitions about sexual immorality, its value extends well beyond that. When we consider any action, we ask “is it beneficial?” One translation says “is it edifying?” Does it build up in any way? Does it help me become who God intends me to become? And of equal importance is the second question: “Will it control me?” So many of our activities begin to own us, to hold us prisoner, either because they are addictions or compulsions, or because they put burdens on us that distract us from the things that matter. 

The Shaker hymn “’Tis The Gift To Be Simple” expresses so beautifully the joy and freedom of breaking free, of release, of letting go of so many things that bind us. Perhaps there is something that you can let go of, so that your energy and focus can be on those things that matter most.

Prayer:
God, in this season of Lent, we confess our reluctance to let go of those things that hold us hostage.  Set us free from all those things that control us, so that we might find ourselves in the valley of love and delight. Amen.