We recently began the season of Lent. One of the practices most associated with this season is giving up something as an act of sacrificial discipline.
Some people give up chocolate. Others decide to watch less television and instead use that time for prayer and Scripture reading.
The goal of Lenten discipline is to be more fully conformed to the likeness of the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us.
After reading a recent op-ed by Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute, I wonder if one thing we all might strive to give up this Lent is contempt.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “contempt” as “the feeling that a person or a thing is worthless or beneath consideration.” It is ultimately derived from the Latin word contemptus which means “to scorn or despise.”