Why do large ships have their hulls painted red? The short answer is tradition. It goes back to a time of wooden sailing ships. Ship’s owners would paint their hulls with special paint to protect the wooden hulls from destructive worms and barnacles. The paint contained iron and over time it would rust and turned a lead oxide that turned the hulls red. Today ships are still painted to protect their hulls from barnacles and red is chosen to honor the past. But why would such massive ships be so concerned about a few barnacles any more? It’s true a few barnacles will not have much effect on these incredibly powerful ships. But if left to accumulate on the hull of the vessel, over time, they can dramatically reduce the power and efficiency of the ship, costing their companies thousands of dollars in extra fuel and lost time. Therefore it is imperative they keep their ship’s hull clean.
I have come to find that my spiritual life, the health of my soul, can be a lot like the hull of a ship. If left uncared for, barnacles can begin to attach themselves. A few of them have no real impact. But the continued accumulation can weigh me down to the point of sickness with lost power and well-being. The season of Lent in the church begins with Ash Wednesday and continues through to Easter morning. It is a time of forty days of preparation for Easter. During this time, many choose to stop doing certain things, a fast, in order to refocus themselves on Christ. In effect, we are choosing to remove barnacles from our spiritual hulls that have begun to drag us down.
For myself, one major barnacle I feel is sucking the life from my soul is Facebook. I need to step away. So, starting this Ash Wednesday, I will not only be not signing in to my account, but I will be deactivating it. Will I come back after Easter? Maybe. I don’t know. In the meantime, if you need to let me know you are sick, had a great meal, died, or want to sell me something, you will have to reach me another way.
And now, of course, the challenge. What about you? Have you ever thought of giving something up for Lent? Are there barnacles that have attached to your soul you need to scrape off? Feel free to share, what you are giving up if you like, but, of course, not on Facebook.
Stephen