Lent Devotional – Ash Wednesday

Wednesday, March 5

By: Anthony Wilson

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.

Psalms: 141:3

Three years ago, I was searching for something to give up for Lent. I had an attachment to a specific social media platform. I truly viewed it as my “town square”, where I could say whatever I thought. I was particularly vocal in a specific context, and I let my displeasure be known frequently. Often with words that should never come out of the mouth (or the keyboard) of a Christian. I now compare it to “road rage” because it was similar in that I was acting very differently in the context of this social media setting than I would ever act in person. It was consuming my emotions daily.

So, one Ash Wednesday, I chose to give up this social media platform for 40 days.

It was liberating. It was life changing.

After the 40 days, I felt a conviction from God that asked me, as surely as if He were in the room with me, “Do you really need to go back on that social media platform?” This made me realize that it was not something that I could resume. I am far from perfect. Yes, I still say things I should not say in a lot of different settings. But listening to the voice of God in this instance has helped me to grow closer to Him and to be a better witness.

Prayer:

O God, continue to convict my heart of things that draw me away from you and dilute my witness as a follower of Christ. Help us all to understand that you are trying to speak to us in every way you can to help us to set a guard over our mouths and our keyboards so that we can be faithful witnesses for the love and grace that you show to all people, no matter who they are. Amen.