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When my children were young, our family made a special promise during Lent. It wasn’t something imposed on us, nor was it a pledge made for others to see. It was a promise we made to ourselves. For 40 days, each of us would give up something we cherished. The children often chose to give up chocolate, candy, or a favorite game.
We began Lent by relinquishing something we enjoyed, and each time we felt its absence, we turned our thoughts to Jesus and directed our hearts toward God. This year, once again, our family made a “promise of giving up.”
Many people dislike the phrase “giving up.” It often evokes thoughts of failure and defeat. However, I believe there are two very different kinds of giving up.
The first is giving up out of helplessness — a forced surrender when we are backed into a corner, left with no options. In these moments, the reality of unfulfilled desires can make us feel like failures, leaving us wounded and broken. We fear this kind of giving up because it brings pain.
But there is another kind of giving up — the act of laying down. This is not about failure but about surrendering our limitations to God. When we acknowledge our weaknesses and admit that we cannot do everything on our own, we can bring our burdens before God and lay them down at His feet.
The story of Jesus Christ begins with this very act of laying down. Jesus relinquished His divine position as the Son of God and came into this world. Through His holy renunciation, He entrusted everything to God, offering up His time on earth in complete surrender to divine love. Because of this, we have new life.
Today, the world is nothing short of a battlefield. The powerful stop at nothing to gain more power, consuming everything that stands in their way. Their insatiable greed blinds them to the crumbling of communities and the suffering of the weak. The vulnerable, the hopeless, and the helpless are treated as if they are mere obstacles, undeserving of compassion.
We call ourselves Christians, followers of Jesus Christ. Yet nations founded on His spirit grow increasingly ruthless, neglecting the poor and trampling the weak. In such a world, there is no room for “giving up.”
As I walk through Lent once again, I ask myself: What must I give up? When I surrender my greed before Jesus Christ, my vision clears — I can see the community, hear the voice of the community, and be within the community.
Rev. Dr. Young Lan Kim is a DSF/CST graduate (D.Min./2018) and a current DSF board member. She is the Pastor of Worship and Arts at Yedidyah Christian Church in Norwalk, CA and the Executive Director of Theater T.A.L. (True Actor’s League).
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