For most of my adult life I have wondered what to "give up" for Lent. I usually choose something I really enjoy to eliminate for the 40 days of Lent. Honestly, many of the years I was just going through the motions and not really thinking too much about what I was doing. After all, all good Christians automatically give something up for Lent, right?
Today we know Lent as a season of conversion: We acknowledge the ways we have turned away from God in our lives and we focus on turning our hearts and minds back toward God. Giving up something for Lent is ultimately a form of fasting. We can deprive ourselves of some small pleasure or indulgence and offer that sacrifice up to God. Or we might give up a bad habit as a way of positively turning our life back toward what God wants for us.