Should We Plan Repentance?
As I write, Mardi Gras is in full swing in New Orleans. Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday or "Fat Tuesday" as it is sometimes called) is essentially a wild, drunken party which precedes Ash Wednesday, a Catholic holy day. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period of prayer and fasting which extends to Holy Saturday. Lent is an attempt by some religious people to follow the example of Jesus as He fasted for forty days and nights prior to His temptation by Satan (Matthew 4). Traditionally, Lent was a period of selective fasting; for instance, eggs and fat were forbidden. Fat Tuesday has also been called Pancake Day because it was the last opportunity that pancakes, made with eggs and fat, could be eaten before the beginning of Lent.
The idea behind "Fat Tuesday" was originally to enjoy some foods that would be forbidden during Lent (1 Timothy 4:1-3). On Ash Wednesday, Roman Catholics (and evidently others) have the ashes of a palm leaf placed on their foreheads as a sign of mourning and repentance for sin. The Bible says nothing about Lent (a required 40-day selective fast), Fat Tuesday or Ash Wednesday; all of these religious observances find their origin in tradition.
"Fat Tuesday" has certainly changed! It is no longer a single day of festivities. In New Orleans it is an extended, rowdy party characterized by drunkenness and immodest dress and behavior. Having lived a couple of years in Brazil, I am familiar with Carnival, the Brazilian equivalent of Mardi Gras. The Brazilians are notorious for their licentious behavior during the week of Carnival.
I suspect that for many who celebrate Mardi Gras it is not imbued with any religious significance despite its origin. For them, it is simply an opportunity to party. Some, however, will engage in the immoral behavior associated with Mardi Gras on one day and then piously (?) have ashes applied to their forehead on the next day as a sign of repentance and mourning.
I am borrowing the occasion of Mardi Gras to caution about "planned repentance." Does it not seem inconsistent or even hypocritical to plan sin for one day and repentance for the next? Are we not minimizing the seriousness of sin when we plan both its commission and our subsequent repentance for it?? Christians should abhor evil (Romans 12:9). How sincere is our contrition for sin if we are planning that contrition even before we commit the sin? Contrition for sin is not just a prescribed ritual; it involves the heart of man and should reflect the way he genuinely feels about the sin committed.
Will God be pleased with folks whose mindset is, "I am going to take a break from holy living for a short season of sinful pleasure, but I’ll return to holiness right afterwards." The Bible affirms that God is not mocked (Galatians 6:7). If I know something to be sinful, the proper course is to summon the strength and courage to avoid that sin.