The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1918-02-15
LEN .
BY DR.. Geo. Q. Watts.

Tomorrow will be "Wednesday,
the first day of Lent. All Christian
bodies, which still adhere to the rites
and customs Of the primitive church,
will observe this solemn day. It Is
the first day of that sacred season OF
special discipline, self-denial and self
examination, commonly called Lent.
Ash Wednesday is SO named because
in olden times the penitents sprinkled
ashes on their heads, as the outward
and visible sign of an inward and
spiritual sorrow for the sins and
shortcomings to which humanity is
so prone to succumb. This ancient
custom levelled all social rank, max
ing prince and pauper wear the same
brand of guilt; it subdued to the very
dust the proud and selfish, making
them deeply sensible of the brevity
and seriousness of life, and apprecia-
tive of the things that are not tarn-
ished by the touch of time-and the
grave.
This probing and pruning season
commends itself to the reverence and
intelligence Of thinking people more
and more each year. To say that
those who observe Lent are forty
day" Christians is foolish as in
sisting that those who keep the Lords
Day are "one-day' Christians. or those
who celebrate the Fourth of July.
"one-day" patriots The confession Of
the French Calvinist preacher, Daille,
who, while attacking it, conceded that
it was universally observed in the
chufch" by the fourth century, II but
one witness to the antiquity of the
heart-searchfng season Of Lent. Orig
inally it was a rigid fast of forty
hours before Easter: then, it included
the week days Of six weeks of self-de-
NAL, and after the seventh century 1t
became our Lent of forty weekdays,
in commemoration of the forty "hard"
days Jesus spent in the wilderness.
Lent is venerated not solely because
Eof its antiquity, but because of
recognition that holiness and health
go together. Originally it was the
expression Of an expedient of health
and then Of pious impulse. 1t has
been truly said that most men dig
their graves with their teeth. The
use of many things in life has no
moral hue at all, until the question
arises, "Who is at the helm?-the
man or the appetizer" Appetites need
to be curbed, desires for non-essen-
tials need to be suppressed. The gear
of life's machine needs to be shifted
from high to low at intervals. The
season of Lent often means an escape
from a sanatarium for nerve-fatigue.
A quietus on the hurry and scurry
and worry of life preserves the gem
eral health of the whole man. Then,
the Christian needs to take stock as
well as the merchant. We need to
know more intimately what manner OF
men we are. The root of so many
sins and blemishes is often thought
lessness. Intensive training is good
for the soldier of God as we'll as the
soldier of Caesar. A great ecclesias-
tic has said that one month of quiet.
earnest discipline will convert a raw
recruit into an efficient. soldier. The
spirit of Lent, in this trying year is
also the spirit of patriotism. Con-
serving food means denying the pal.
ate. After man has taken stock of
the dynamic, spiritual factors In
wholesome, effective living, he pro-
eeeds 20 correct what is wrong and
amiss and weak in him, through the
Grace of God. This is the positive
side of Lent. Church-going, special
prayers, extraordinary acts of deyo-
ton, more earnest Bible study-alI
are factors in this intensive soul-cul.
ture. The benefits of Lent are limit.
ed by the disposition of the individual
It may be farce or a fact. God re.
specteth adverbs more than verbs.
HOW one observes Lent rests with
the Christian. Giving up" luxuries
and amusements is good-but not
enough: there must be a giving "out"
OF Christian influence by doing good
wherever opportunity offers.
Every man can afford to keep Lent.