Why Do You Eat So Much Peanut Butter?

Why Do You Eat So Much Peanut Butter?
by Sarah McKee (Mar. '01)

As Orthodox Christians, we are all used to getting questions along these lines. When asked this question, I usually tell my friends or whoever asks, that I’m doing this for God. Usually I need to expand on this a little more because this is not a very clear explanation. So I tell them that during Lent, Orthodox Christians give up meat and dairy products. The Church expects this of us. But we not only give up food, we also try to give up other sins, like gluttony. When we give up meat and the sins, we show the Lord that we don’t automatically expect to go to heaven just because He died to save us from our sins. Also the devil tempted Jesus during His retreat for forty days, and we try to show the devil that we are not going to give into his temptations.

Lent is a time to give up something we love to show God we love him, and sometimes people can’t give up meat. In that case, they give up things like chocolate, or other things that are very difficult for them to give up. Lent is not only a time to give up things we love, it’s also a time to gain the spiritual side we lost over the past year. It’s time to get more in touch with God and to slow our lives down for the Lord. Lent is basically a spiritual renewal to prepare for the most important feast of the year, Pascha. This is a time when we realize what Jesus did to save our souls.