Letting Go

“Gain” seems to be the the name of the game in this world.

We define our identity and our success by the size of our bank account, the number of social media followers we obtain, the levels of success our children achieve, along with many other similar metrics.

Our metrics might differ to an extent, but we all buy into this mentality in some form or fashion. It's reflected in our schedules, our priorities, and our bank account statements. The places we spend our time, our energy, and our resources are often indications of what we deem most important to us.

This week during Lent, we’re practicing letting go. It's a radical concept in a society where more is better, but

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We’re living on borrowed time with borrowed stuff, y’all.

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it’s so incredibly necessary in our lives. Without it, we risk the same perils that the rich young ruler or the well-to-do Pharisees encountered. That is, we risk the elevation of earthly status, money, and self-righteousness—along with all the benefits we assume to accompany those things, like good health, Godly children, and a comfortable life—above our relationship with the God who gave us everything in the first place.

We’re living on borrowed time with borrowed stuff, y’all. To think we are to be credited with all of the good things we have and experience is a farce. It’s all from God, the Perfect Giver of gifts.

This Lenten season, I encourage you to carve out some time to sit with God and simply observe. Observe your relationships with family and friends. Observe your time and how you spend it. Observe your budget and where your money goes. Observe your past and the events that brought you to where you are today. Observe your biases and how they shape the way you see the world around you. Observe your home and the many things within it. Observe your city and the people you share it with.

As you take note of these things, bring them before God. Let go of your hold on them—the good and the not-so-good things alike—and let God speak to you about each of them in turn. Ask Him to show you which things you’re holding onto too tightly, as well as which things have too tight of a grip on you.

If you’re like me, some stuff will be easier to let go of. Other stuff will be excruciating to release. That’s perfectly ok. We must embrace that letting go is sometimes a process and not always instantaneous.

Yet as we learn to let go of that which was not ours in the first place we discover something, or rather Someone, that far exceeds all other things. You see, this is the reason we practice letting go: not simply to be released from the grip of things that will not last, but to be released into a deeper relationship with the Eternal One, Jesus Christ.

Andrew Brewer has never swashbuckled with pirates, nor has he discovered the lost city of gold. Instead, Andrew spends the majority of his time coding things on the interwebz, spending time with his wife Jayne while trying to wrangle their two rambunctious boys, and guzzling dangerously large amounts of coffee. He also writes a few words from time to time.