U.S. - A recent study performed by LifeWay Research confirmed Wednesday that one's level of closeness to the almighty God was directly proportional to how often they loudly proclaim what they gave up for Lent this year.

The study surveyed thousands of Christians who take part in the Lent season, and compared their frequency of telling others on Facebook or in person about what they had sacrificed with the quality of their relationship to God.

"Subjects who post daily about how much they're missing whatever it is they gave up for Lent were found to be much holier and further along in their walk with Christ," a research associate said, adding that the results were consistent across the board, no matter how small or trivial the sacrifice was.

"People who didn't participate in Lent at all, or did so without telling anyone about it, were found to have almost no relationship with God whatsoever in most cases."