During Lent, the practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are meant to aid us in reflecting on our human sinfulness. These practices enable us to recognize more clearly both sins of commission and omission. We can sometimes become desensitized to our shortcomings over years of proximity—we are so close to our own wickedness that perhaps, like Lot’s wife, we may even grieve when our sin passes away from us.

Let us pray in this season of Lent for the clarity and resolve to retreat from former acts of sinfulness and pride with bold determination, never looking back.