Lent: A Time to Uproot Intransigence

We exaggerate beyond measure the faults committed against us; worms that we are, we take the slightest pressure exerted on us to be an enormous attack. Meanwhile we count as nothing what we undertake proudly against the sovereign majesty of God and the rights of His empire!

This quote is from the mediation for the second Monday of Lent in Bishop Bossuet’s Meditations for Lent. As I read this meditation, I couldn’t help but think of our current cultural dialogues as well as Christ’s parable about the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35).

Context and Intransigence

Lent is a time for self-examination, penitence, and prayer. It is altogether too easy to give ourselves a passing grade for this examination while at the same time flunking most everyone else. Now there are many reasons this is the case. But two that I want to focus on are context and intransigence. What I mean by context is that we ourselves are acutely aware of our own personal histories, our struggles, weaknesses, failures, successes, the assistance we’ve received and given to others, etc.

We take this context everywhere we go and it frames how we view ourselves and the world. When we are slighted, ignored, or perhaps simply misunderstand another’s action or words, we use this context as the lens through which we analyze what has happened. Typically, we become immediately indignant. How could someone do or say such a thing? We typically predicate the answer on the manifest depravity, meanness, etc. of the other.

What I mean by intransigence is our general distaste as human beings to acknowledge unfruitful behaviors and pursue a different path. Things may be out of our control, or not our fault, we may be victims of circumstance, etc. In knowing this we are easy with ourselves and can at times use this as a reason to not enact any sort of meaningful change in our lives. Additionally, many times it is quite hard to change especially if we are trying to change a habit or any other type of ingrained behavior. It requires patience, discipline, sustained effort, and enormous energy and support. So, there is also much inertia to overcome in trying to change as well.

A Deadly Combination

Context coupled with intransigence can create a very deadly combination in which we are too easy on ourselves and too harsh with others. I think much of this is behind what we are seeing in our culture today. It does not matter what side or what issue. Each side has its go-to epithets, and rationalizations for one another while at the same time proclaiming their own nobility or altruism. This is doubly dangerous because in such a situation true change becomes nearly impossible and every issue, no matter how important and pressing goes unattended, just another causality in this proxy war of judgment and virtue signaling.

While we may not be in a position to do much about our culture at large, we can try to make some difference in our own lives. I think one of the most important avenues for change is to realize that we all have our own contexts. There is a quote oft attributed to Plato which states, “Be kinder than you think you should be because everyone you see is fighting a hard battle.”

We need to realize that everyone has a context, not just ourselves, and we should therefore never assume anything on the part of someone whose context we do not know. The unforgiving servant had his debt totally cancelled by the king. The unforgiving servant did not extend that same understanding to his fellow servant who owed him money. We ourselves and the other servants who witnesses this were rightly outraged at his breathtaking blindness. We must be wary to not be blind ourselves.

Lent as Means to Overcome

It is important to keep in mind that Jesus prefaced this parable with the words, “That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.” This means that God Himself is willing to forgive us all of our sins, debts, etc. We only need to ask Him sincerely and extend the same understanding to those who owe us. It is astonishing that that is all that is asked of us in return for the total cancellation of all of our debts.

The master of all creation who is intimately aware of all contexts and human intransigence only asks that we are sincere and that we do the same to others. Can we really say that we have been as easy with others as we are on ourselves or God is with us? I know that I cannot say that. If not, then it is past time to overcome our intransigence and recognize that everyone is fighting a tough battle.

Another step to take on the road to uprooting our own intransigence is inculcating small routine habits to build on. They could be as simple as journaling 15 minutes a day, volunteering for a couple of hours a week at a soup kitchen, asking how a friend is doing if you haven’t heard from them in a while, etc. Lent can serve as a means for achieving this. It can be our yearly Damascus experience where we reflect, pray, and knock ourselves out of our blindness. This can let God’s grace into us and help us to honestly acknowledging our own faults while refusing to pass judgment on others on account of our not knowing their contexts as God does.

Lenten Prayer

Because our contexts and our intransigence shapes how we frame things, it is important that we have routine reminders of our own frailties and the struggles everyone goes through. Lent can spur us to have these routines become something that lasts not only 40 days but every day. Therefore, let our Lenten prayer and our daily prayer be that God may give us the grace to be sincere and understanding with others and disciplined in our efforts to change ourselves.