For me, it’s not a question of what that I would sacrifice my life for, but who. The answer is my son.
If it came down to my life or James’s, I would give my life for his. He’s new to the world and deserves a chance to live it, experience it, make it better. I’ve already had enough time on this planet. If I haven’t completed my life’s work yet, then I will leave this world with it unfinished.
Sacrifice means to give up something perceived as valuable or important for somebody or something else considered to be of more value or importance.
In the end I believe it comes down to who. If you could make a better life for your child wouldn’t you risk your life, your job, your dignity?
Perhaps we are asked to sacrifice some part of ourselves everyday in order to pave the way for someone else’s new beginning.
What do you think? Leave a comment on my website or Send me an email!
Kids are good for you
I think sacrifice is giving up what you WANT for someone that you LOVE. If your child were in a vegetative state with no hope of recovery, that child would (by common standards) have less VALUE. Would the average mother then decide she would NOT give her life for her child? Of course not. VALUE is not what we base our decisions on or make sacrifices for. It is LOVE that makes us give the cookie with the most chips to the other person, what makes us give our jacket to someone else’s whiny child while we freeze our butt off at the soccer game, what makes us spend that extra $20 on a funny t-shirt for a husband or friend instead of getting that book we’ve been wanting to read. If you are a Christian you believe Jesus is God and he died for the human race. Are humans more valuable than God? Certainly not. He died out of love for us, that we would have the most chips, the warm jacket…and to inspire us to pay that forward to the people we encounter in our lives. In this way we CAN give that new beginning to someone else every day. You can give the good parking spot to the creepy guy with road rage, let a crabby old lady cut you in the line at the store, give a smile to the 10-year-old at the movie theater who for the last 5 minutes has said more swear words than you even know. Your small sacrifice may give someone else that tiny measure of love that they needed to change their day, their focus, maybe change their life. If each person would be willing to risk their job, dignity, comfort, happiness, status, or even their life if called to do so — what might our world be like? Thanks for a great topic Kris!