It’s the reason why you do it.

Quite a few of the conversations I have earwigged on, or shared in, over this past few days have involved the phrase: “So, what are you giving up?”

Yes, it’s that time of year. Lent begins and, as Christians remember the time Jesus spent in the wilderness preparing for the work he was to do in sharing God’s message of faith, many people will be considering ways to decrease their chocolate/wine/coffee/tobacco/whatever consumption.

The real point of Lent, though, is not to be a sort of ‘extreme 5:2 diet’ arrangement. The focus should be not what to give up for this time, but the reason to do it. For those who observe Lent, the real purpose of stopping or starting something is to point towards God, to take faith seriously and to grow in faith.

So this Lent, think about why you do something - not what to do. And pray, too.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s Midweek Herald for an important announcement about the Reverend Alastair McCollum.