Put Others First This Lent
By Paul Ashton, Psy.D., D.Min.
Consultant to the VIRTUS® Programs
No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great.
Saint John Chrysostom
Another Lent is upon us quickly—although it seems we were just celebrating the Christmas Season. The Liturgical season offers us marvelous opportunities to start anew and begin again. And thus, this Ash Wednesday is another of those times to take a deep breath, pause, take stock and move forward with confidence that the season of Lent will be a time filled with opportunity.
The traditions of our Lenten season are there to assist us in finding opportunities—prayer, alms giving and fasting. Exploring creative ways within those practices is a great way to spend Lent. They allow us organic ways to be our best selves. When something feels right to us, then it is more than likely it will be received well by others. When we are comfortable performing good deeds, then we put the person who receives our good deed at ease. Think of the times we have been served well by nurses, healthcare professionals and medical personnel. Their skilled care put us at ease, and we were able to retain our dignity while we were being assisted—sometimes in the most personal and difficult situations. This is quality care, concern and charity. I think this is what Saint John Chrysostom meant in his quote above. Doing the good deed is one thing; the way in which it is done is quite another. Putting the “other” as the main object in our quest to serve and do good is the goal. This, I believe is the focus of our good works during the Lenten season and beyond. Being mindful of what the other person’s needs, wants and desires is sometimes only a question away. Many times we do good deeds, but few times do we ask what is truly needed. We offer what we think is wanted instead of what the receiver desires.
Lent is about nothing politically correct or anything to do with appearances or judgment or personalities. It is about getting closer to Christ. In our quest to do so we might find the 40 days set aside as an opportunity to do good for those in whose faces we find Him hiding—perhaps under dirt, behind tears or sallow with hunger. We might find Him in nature, and the ways we respect and nurture it allows a closeness and oneness that fills us and makes us whole. We might find Him in the things that come our way or cross our paths as blessings or woes. When we seek Him the darkness, the woes turn to light.
Let this Lenten season be a good reminder for us to put the needs of others first. It is a way of life that acknowledges God in others, in His creation and all He gives us. May this Lent be a time when you ask questions and may others bless you in your life and ask you questions of their own.
This article is not part of your continuing training. To access your required bulletins you must log in using the form in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Then go to the TRAINING tab.
