Mardi Gras is dumb.
People are free to give themselves over to gluttony and debauchery. The life to which Jesus calls us is much better and that’s the life I think everyone should live. But people can still choose celebrate Mardi Gras how they like, giving into every desire and not denying their flesh.
But that’s not why I think Mardi Gras is dumb.
Mardi Gras is dumb when it’s connected to Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a season committed to Christ and growing in our discipleship. Some Christians choose to give something up for Lent in order to become a better disciple of Christ. Mardi Gras is supposed to be the last hurrah before giving something up for Christ.
If you give up alcohol for Lent then on Mardi Gras you drink until you black out.
If you give up fast food for Lent then on Mardi Gras you put yourself in a food coma by eating too much Chick-fil-A, Taco Bell, In-N-Out and Carl’s Jr. (Hardee’s for you east coasters).
If you give up social media for Lent then on Mardi Gras you post way too much and schedule updates for the next 40 days.
I’m all for Lent and using it as a time to more strongly commit ourselves to Christ. Choosing to forget that commitment for one day, though, and doing whatever we want seems opposed to discipleship. Jesus doesn’t tell us to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow him for 364 days a year. Jesus wants every day, whether it’s the Tuesday before Lent or the third Tuesday in July.
That being said, here are some nerdy ways to indulge on Mardi Gras.
- Video game marathon: I could spend Mardi Gras beating Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3.
- Nerdy reading: I am 75% of the way through A Feast For Crows. I could finish it on Mardi Gras and get started on A Dance With Dragons.
- Marvel Cinematic Universe: Thor: The Dark World came out last week. Why not watch that and all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies that preceded it?
- Netflix: I spend normal days watching too much Netflix. At least Mardi Gras gives us an excuse to do that.
- Magic: Ever since I started playing Magic, all I’ve wanted to do is play more Magic. We could use Mardi Gras as an excuse to build a little community and play Magic all day.
Those are just a couple nerdy ways to spend Mardi Gras. I don’t think any of those would cause us to be disobedient to Jesus. They may cause us to waste time, but that’s better than missing time because we black out from drinking too much.
What other nerdy ways could you spend Mardi Gras?
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