Every year, like clockwork, Ash Wednesday rolls around and kicks off the Roman Catholic tradition of Lent—a six-week-long spectacle of public piety where everyone puts on their best “mourning over sin” performance. And, of course, it’s not just the Catholics anymore. Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, and Methodists have kept it alive, while more and more mainline Protestants and even Evangelicals have eagerly jumped on the bandwagon, desperate for a taste of ritualistic virtue-signaling.

At its core, Lent is about fasting—or at least, that’s what people claim. Traditionally, it involved abstaining from meat, but modernity has turned it into an anything-goes buffet of meaningless self-denial. Give up coffee? Social media? Chocolate? Sure, why not—because nothing says “spiritual discipline” like abstaining from caramel macchiatos while posting about it on Instagram.

Here are a few reasons Christians shouldn’t bother with Lent:

1.) Fasting is not corporate or a public spectacle, and Scripture warns against making it one. Jesus made it clear that fasting was a private matter between the believer and God. But Lent is the exact opposite: a public, church-wide, showy season where everyone is pressured into performing acts of abstinence for collective approval.

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” — Matthew 6:16-18

But what does mainstream Christianity do? It turns fasting into a corporate spectacle. Fasting, biblically, is an intensely personal discipline designed to draw us closer to God. It should not be a programmed event that churches pressure their members into observing.

2.) Fasting doesn’t earn you favor with God. Many Lent observers have convinced themselves that their participation somehow earns them spiritual credit—as if giving up meat or television is a form of penance. This idea is especially rampant in Roman Catholicism but has crept into Evangelical circles as well. Yet, Scripture explicitly refutes the notion that human works—especially ritualistic ones—can turn away God’s wrath.

“You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.” — Galatians 5:4

The only way to be right with God is through the finished work of Christ. Not through some seasonal religious performance.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” — John 8:36

3.) The modern practice of Lent is completely unbiblical. When Scripture speaks of fasting, it refers to the intentional denial of something essential—usually food—for the purpose of drawing closer to God. Yet Lent has turned this into a trivialized exercise in selective self-deprivation. Giving up desserts? Skipping Netflix? That’s not biblical fasting. That’s dieting with a religious excuse.

Jesus never commanded His disciples to pick a luxury and abstain from it for six weeks based on the church calendar. True fasting is meant to direct focus entirely on God, not on some personal challenge to prove your willpower.

4.) Lent is a tradition of men, not a command from God. Nowhere in Scripture is there a mandate to observe Lent. While there’s nothing inherently sinful about setting aside specific days for reflection, the moment it becomes a compulsory ritual—or worse, a means to gain favor with God—it becomes idolatry.

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” — Colossians 2:8

Jesus Himself rebuked the Pharisees for prioritizing their traditions over God’s Word. And yet, many churches today pressure believers into practicing Lent as though it were a biblical requirement.

5.) Spiritual disciplines should be a lifestyle, not a seasonal event. Prayer, fasting, and spiritual reflection are not meant to be confined to a specific season dictated by church tradition. If your faithfulness to these disciplines is dictated by the turn of the calendar rather than by the Spirit of God, you might want to rethink your priorities.

We are called to be steadfast in prayer and devotion at all times.

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” — Colossians 4:2

If you need the rhythm of Lent to remind you to pray, fast, or seek the Lord, then the real problem isn’t what you’re giving up—it’s what you were neglecting the rest of the year.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” — Galatians 2:20

In the end, Lent is little more than a religious placebo—a man-made tradition dressed up as devotion. If you’re serious about honoring God, forget about seasonal self-denial and live every day in submission to Christ.