Blessed Subtraction

Lent is the 40-day period in which Christians prepare themselves for Easter. Historically, it is a time of repentance and focusing on the sufferings of Christ. As we focus more and more on Christ, we choose to abstain from certain things during this period. Such abstinence is sometimes called “blessed subtraction” because we subtract those things in our lives which take up our attention and shift that attention to the things of God. Let me share personal experience:

Two years ago I first practiced “blessed subtraction” during Lent. I decided that during Lent I would eliminate all of the excess noise from my life, and use the quiet moments to focus on God. That meant turning off the TV when cooking dinner and driving to work in silence rather than with the radio on. At the end of the Lenten season, I realized that I had really enjoyed this blessed subtraction. In fact, I had become accustomed to the quiet that even after Easter, I didn’t try to fill it with noise from the TV or radio.

Last year I joined others in listening to the whole Bible during the Lenten season. I normally wouldn’t have 2 hours to spare each day to do this, but I was very intentional about listening every time I was cooking, washing dishes, walking, traveling on the train, cleaning, etc. It’s amazing how much time we actually have in a day! Those activities didn’t take up 2 whole hours per day, so the rest of the time had to be set aside from other activities (like watching TV or time on the Internet).

How will you spend your time and energy during these 40 days leading up to Easter? Will you engage in Blessed Subtraction?