Part 2, Some Thoughts on Lent, from a guy who is more likely to have lint on his sweater, than ashes on his forehead:

(This is the second in a multi-part series on Lent. If you didn't read part 1, and would like to, scroll to February 17.)

There is a tendency in the heart of man to take practices, good and well-intentioned though they be, and turn them into things that are not good at all.
The confession of sin, repentance, prayer, and appropriate self-denial are clearly practices that God's word recommends and that can draw us closer to God. Since these are concepts that are emphasized during the Lenten Season, a number of Christians would say that all Christians ought to observe Lent, especially since it reminds us of rituals practiced by many Christians for millennia. This is parallel with the desire of a great many thinking, mostly younger, Christian folk, who are trying to recapture some of the awe and wonder communicated by ritual and tradition.
There is reason for caution, though, when we build our Christian well-being on behaviors that, though drawn from Biblical precedents, are not really scriptural.
In Colossians 2:8 Paul lists several forces that can take people--even God's people--captive. On of them is "the tradition of men." He goes on in verse 16 to say, "Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day"
It is one thing to say that something not found in the Bible is helpful in encouraging my achievement of Scriptural practices or goals. It is something entirely different when we use words like "must," "ought," "can't," or even too-strong a "should," in relation to extra-Biblical practices. What may have been intended to bring us into the freedom that comes from a life conformed to God's standards, can become a trap that steals our freedom.
The slope in the human heart runs toward doing good things to please God. An irrefutable truth from scripture is found as a confession of a very Godly man. "I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh." (Paul, Romans 7:18)
It's STTA

(*As is true about much of the liturgical calendar, there is some disagreement as to when Lent begins. I'll be posting some articles and information about Lent on my blog, http://howardmerrell.blogspot.com/)