Welcome to Lent! The time of year we have to give up stuff we like. This begs the question, "Why does God want us to suffer?" In short, he doesn't want us to suffer, that's why we have Lent.
Lent is a time of cleansing and refocusing on Christ. As Christians, our goal is to get to Heaven by following Christ. With constantly being surrounded by worldly things, many of us lose focus. Yeah, we may pray and get to Mass, but we don't do it joyfully.
Christianity is not just what we do, it's also how we do it. So when we offer something up during Lent, it's saying "God, I value this thing, but I value my relationship with you more." It's like saying, "Mom, I know you bought me this Xbox, but it's been distracting me from you. So I'm not going to play it for a while so I can spend more time with you."
Things tend to get their hooks in us. Don't believe me? Turn your phone off for two days (heck, try an afternoon). Even if you're able to keep your phone off, take a tally on how many times you think about your phone. That "need" isn't healthy for us. God wants us to be freed of these hooks so that we can truly be ourselves.
So what has its hooks in you? Instagram? The "Related Videos" on YouTube? Netflix? Twitter? Maybe that's what God is asking for you to offer up this Lent. When you feel tempted by what you are offering up, just say, "God, I love you more than _______."
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