Making Room at Work
Lent Is Not Just What You Give Up
February 28 — Faith & Vocation
When people think about Lent, the first question is usually:
“What are you giving up?”
Chocolate.
Social media.
Coffee.
Streaming.
And while fasting has its place, Lent is often misunderstood.
It is not primarily about subtraction.
It is about space.
Lent is less about what you give up — and more about what you are making room for.
And that question belongs not only in church, but at work.
1. What Is Crowding Your Work?
Work fills quickly.
Deadlines fill it.
Emails fill it.
Meetings fill it.
Ambition fills it.
Comparison fills it.
Resentment fills it.
Pressure fills it.
Very rarely does work leave natural space.
If you don’t choose space intentionally, something else will claim it.
Lent gently interrupts that accumulation.
It asks:
What has quietly taken over?
2. Giving Up Without Making Room Changes Nothing
If you give something up but don’t replace it with intention, the space won’t stay empty.
It will refill — usually with the same anxieties and habits.
At work, this might look like:
- reducing overtime but filling the mental space with worry
- stepping back from ambition but replacing it with comparison
- stopping reactive emails but not cultivating patience
Subtraction alone is not transformation.
Space must be directed.
3. What Are You Making Room For?
Instead of asking:
“What should I eliminate?”
Ask:
“What needs more room?”
Room for:
- patience in meetings
- listening without interruption
- slower responses instead of reactive ones
- courage instead of fear
- integrity instead of convenience
- humility instead of performance
Lent creates margin so these things can grow.
4. Hope Needs Space to Breathe
In imperfect systems — and most workplaces are imperfect — hope suffocates when everything is crowded.
Cynicism fills space quickly.
Efficiency fills space quickly.
Pressure fills space quickly.
Hope requires margin.
When you stop filling every gap with urgency, something else can grow.
Faithful presence.
Clearer motives.
Deeper trust.
You may not change the whole system.
But you can create a different interior posture within it.
5. Making Room Is an Act of Trust
The reason Lent feels uncomfortable is simple:
Space exposes what we’ve been leaning on.
When you give up constant motion, you notice anxiety.
When you reduce distraction, you notice restlessness.
When you slow your ambition, you notice fear.
That exposure is not failure.
It is formation.
You are making room for God to reorder what drives you.
6. A Practice for February 28
Today, choose one small act of spaciousness at work.
Maybe:
- don’t check email for the first 15 minutes
- take one slow lunch
- pause before responding
- decline one unnecessary meeting
- step outside for five quiet minutes
Then ask:
“What am I making room for?”
Name it.
Intend it.
Protect it.
The Invitation
February 28 reminds us that Lent is not about proving discipline.
It is about creating space for deeper faithfulness.
You do not need to overhaul your career.
You need to decide what you are making room for.
More presence.
More integrity.
More courage.
More hope.
More love.
Work will always try to fill you.
Lent teaches you how to empty wisely.
And what you make room for now will shape who you become —
Monday through Saturday.