The Lenten season has begun. Earlier this week, Christians celebrated Ash Wednesday, thrusting us into the holy season. Christians will fast periodically throughout the forty days of Lent, imitating Jesus Christ’s fast in the desert. Additionally, Christians will abstain from eating meat on Fridays. But one of the more popular features of the Lenten season is the individual choice to give up something for the duration of Lent. With every passing year, it seems this is increasingly needed for all of us. Lent highlights the significant role our actions play in our lives.
Some of the common things people give up include alcohol and smoking. The aim is to surrender some indulgence that is bad for you. This is not just a challenge to overcome for bragging rights; it is something that should be taken seriously and resolutely. It ought to truly involve a person’s use of individual will to abstain from bad behavior. Such abstinence strengthens the heart. That is because the way we live our lives truly matters.
An accurate way of predicting who we are going to be–or identifying who we are–is by looking at how we live our lives. So much of what we do affects our future. Our outcomes are greatly determined by preceding choices. If I choose not to study for an exam, I will likely perform very poorly. If I make this a habit, the ramifications are only exacerbated. Even something as seemingly trivial as phone use before bed can significantly inhibit a person’s memory.
The recognition that there are bad behaviors is essential to human flourishing. The ostensibly compassionate declaration that every behavior, regardless of its utility or consequences, is equally valid and respectable is total nonsense.
Nevertheless, there are many who claim otherwise. They believe there should be no shame for any behavior. For instance, at the Oscars this week, Mikey Madison won an Oscar for best actress after playing the role of a sex worker. She was greeted with roaring applause as she expressed gratitude and support for ‘sex workers.’ Very bizarre, but not all that surprising. These people ought to ask themselves, is this a line of work you would like your daughter to pursue?
Typically, when people try to assert that we should not ever scrutinize others’ behavior, they do not mean racism is cool–although that is a corollary of this brainless attitude. They usually mean that a subset of behaviors that feed the most animalistic human desires, like the savage behaviors described above, are valid because it is “a part of who you are” or some nonsense.
This warped view makes a serious category error. It conflates inclinations and behaviors. It is this misunderstanding that pervades Western society today. This confusion has led to daft campaigns of cultural immolation. It has, in many ways, successfully undermined the time-tested values of the West and exchanged them for debauchery.
So, what is the difference? An inclination is the desire to do something. For instance, some people may have an innate desire to commit violence. A behavior, on the other hand, is the willful choice to do something. This is the act of committing the violence.
The inclination did not force the person to commit the violence. It simply made them want to do it. Inclinations are merely an innate feeling of want. They do not have the power to compel you. Each person makes a conscious decision when engaging in a behavior. You are free to choose in a manner that is independent of factors external to yourself. You can choose to do something or not to do something.
So, when you are searching for an example to follow, be vigilant of where you will be led. Remember that there are behaviors that are objectively bad, and they have serious consequences. The things we do will shape us. During Lent, strive to combat your vices, whatever they may be. It is not counterculture to engage in the ill-fated behaviors of the majority. It is weak to give in to inclinations. Humans are not animals.
