Ash Wednesday

As a visitor to Joburg I have been amazed by the phenomenon of intersections where the traffic lights are not working. The lights not working are of course not what I find amazing, as a Zimbabwean, I am unfortunately far too used to such a phenomenon in my own country. But what does amaze me is the order that still prevails here in Joburg even when the lights is not working. Drivers are so orderly in the way that they each wait for each other to take a turn. Each of the four directions of travel take turns for only one car at a time to cross the intersection. There is a strong sense of justice and fair play at stake here, for sometimes when I have not been good at understanding how the system works, other drivers have hooted at me for not waiting my turn and I have been sufficiently chastened and come to respect and love the system. In Zimbabwe, it is just the opposite that happens, and during rush hour traffic, when the traffic lights are not working, there is very quickly chaos that ensues and very quickly the intersection becomes grid-locked as drivers from all four directions of travel selfishly enter the intersection all at the same time and then block each other’s progress through the intersection. As I pondered this stark difference between intersections in South Africa and in Zimbabwe, I wondered what could be at the root of such a difference? Are we to conclude that South Africans are just more virtuous than Zimbabweans? As a Zimbabwean myself, I would be loathe to concede such a point, besides which there does not seem to be any other data point that would indicate South Africans being more virtuous than Zimbabweans. It may well be that South Africa has far more four-way stops than Zimbabwe. Whatever the origins of such a practice, it is clear that in South Africa, there is a culture of behaving courteously at intersections and waiting your turn. Anyone who is not inculcated into this culture learns quickly (like I did) how to behave virtuously on the road at an intersection. These uncontrolled intersections become schools of virtue as older generations of drivers form younger ones in the virtue of consideration of others and fair-play.

In many ways, Lent is similar to these uncontrolled traffic lights. Firstly, through the practices of fasting, almsgiving and prayer, Lent is a school in virtue. Older generations of Christians teach younger generations of Christians what it means to be virtuous through the practice of these penitential activities that curb our physical desires and redirect our attention towards others and God. Without this structure of Lent that educates our desires and our behaviour, we may well find ourselves in Thomas Hobbes “state of nature,” which describes the situation that obtains in Zimbabwe where it is every man for himself.

Lent is also a time when the traffic lights go out and we come off auto-pilot. As we drive through our lives, we are mostly on auto-pilot, simply following the rules and the expectations of others. We are like drivers who obey the traffic signals and lights and don’t have to give a second thought to the other drivers on the road. When the traffic lights stop working, we come out of auto-pilot and we are forced to pay attention to the other drivers on the road, and ensure that we are considerate to them. In a similar way, during Lent we need to come out of auto-pilot and examine our relationships and “reset” them. We go with Jesus into the desert, and every aspect of our lives has to be up for grabs. During Lent we have to let Jesus reset our relationships. The three practices of Lent help us to evaluate our relationships with created things, with others and with God, and to reset them if necessary.

Fasting is the practice that helps us to reset our relationships with created things. Last Lent, I had realized that I had an unhealthy relationship with Youtube, aimlessly surfing and wasting hours on watching junk. I found that this was very spiritually damaging and so gave up Youtube for Lent. This helped me to reset my relationship so that I could come back to it after Lent in a way that allowed me to benefit from the good content on the platform (podcasts) and stay away from the harmful junk. Fasting is always a way for us to reset our relationship to some created thing so that we can make sure that it is not obscuring our Creator and instead helping us to draw closer to God. Almsgiving is the practice that helps us to reset our relationship to others by looking at the relationships in our lives where we need to pay attention to others, either because they have got clouded by our own selfishness or because we have neglected them altogether. Finally, prayer enables us to reset our relationship with God. By increasing our time of prayer during Lent, we remind ourselves that ultimately the single most important aspect of our lives is our relationship to God, and if any other relationship (with a created thing, or with another person) has got in the way of our relationship to God, then it is time to reorder our priorities.

Often the resetting of these relationships involves a shift in mindset. To go back to the example of the traffic intersection, what prevents the Zimbabwean drivers from waiting their turn? I would suggest that it is the fundamental fear that if they don’t push their way in and assert their rights, they will never get a turn to cross the intersection. It is classic scarcity mentality. A scarcity mentality is almost always unhealthy and often counter-productive as in the case of Zimbabwean intersections. If you have a scarcity mentality approach to food, you will grab any chance that you get to feed yourself, even when you are not hungry, and this can lead to obesity. The point of fasting, almsgiving and prayer is to help us pivot away from a scarcity mindset towards a bountiful mindset. Fasting helps us appreciate the bounty of God, and God’s provision of our daily bread. We do not need to hold on to all our possessions and money, fearing that if we give them away we will not find anymore. It is not necessary for us to hold on to more than we need in case of a rainy day, if the rain comes, God will provide for us. We need to get out of our scarcity mentality and instead enter into a bountiful mentality because we are living off God’s bounty. A person with a bountiful mindset is free to give alms to the poor, because they can trust in God’s providence for them. Similarly, we need not hesitate to give our time to God in prayer, fearing that if we do, we will not have enough time to do all our other necessary tasks and chores. As Jesus encourages us: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these other things will be added unto you.”

Questions for reflection

1. Which relationships in my life (with created things/others/God) need to be reset this Lent?
2. Where in my life do I see a scarcity mindset obtaining?
3. Who are the examples of people who I know who approach life with a bountiful mindset?