#3, Some Thoughts on Lent, from a guy who is more likely to have lint on his sweater than ashes on his forehead:

One of the, perhaps the, central truth of the reformation is sola fide. This rallying cry of the reformers, like Martin Luther, is based on truth found in passages like Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Some folk who heartily endorse that "Faith alone" concept do not find traditions such as the observance of Lent to be in conflict with that credo. For them it is a yearly reminder, encouraging spiritual disciplines that should be in our lives all year long. There are two other groups, though, that we have to keep in mind.
There are those who simply don't believe that God's grace, accessed by faith is sufficient to save us. Their motto is "faith AND . . ." And then there are those who just don't know--many don't even know that they don't know. We have a responsibility to not let "what is for you a good thing be 1spoken of as evil;" (Romans 14:16). I need to keep in mind that many folk believe, "For by doing this list of good things I am saved . . ." I don't want to carry water for that crowd.
Some of the most disciplined, self-sacrificial, concerned-about-sin-in-their-lives Christians that I know choose not to observe Lent. They don't want to appear to give ground on an important issue.
It's STTA.