Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Necessity of Sacrifice

When we hear the word “sacrifice” usually we think of the heathen pagans such as the Moabites that sacrificed their children to Molech, the barbarous Mayans who sacrificed their prisoners to the rain-god Chaac, or even Abraham readying himself to sacrifice his son Isaac to God on the altar on the Mount of Moriah.  It is a detestable, gruesome practice to most of us.  Yet if it is demanded of the gods, or I should say God, is it not then an honourable practice to be kept by all human beings?

Now, neither I, nor God approve of human sacrifice.  It is a horrible stench in the nostrils of God to kill something that He has created in His own image.  At one point, in the practice of Judaism, animal sacrifice—executed in a particular ceremonial fashion—was acceptable.  It is no longer necessary now since the true Messiah and Lamb of God has already come and sacrificed Himself for the world so that we might live eternally.  However, as most concepts translate from the Old Testament to New Testament living, the spirit behind the action of sacrifice is still required. 

Sacrifice is a single concept to be applied—like all the Word—in all aspects of our life.  And no matter what area of our life we choose to practice it in, it is never easy.  Merriam-Webster defines it as the “act of offering to a deity something precious; especially: the killing of a victim on an alter; destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else”.  In short, we are giving up something dear to our hearts for the sake of the greater good.   But how should this be done?

Sacrifice should be done swiftly.  Otherwise, if an individual is left to ponder their decision and mull over it asking themselves if they are sacrificing the right thing or too much of a thing, they are likely to put it off inevitably and thus, miss out on the effect the sacrifice would have had in their lives.  In my experience, it is the same when God speaks to an individual.  The person should act immediately once the instructions are provided.  Had Abraham talked over God’s command to sacrifice his son to his wife, Sarah, or put it off, he never would have done it and would have missed out on the promise of fathering a multitude of people and, in fact, becoming the father of our faith had he not acted swiftly.  Had Jesus in His mortal state given sway to the voices and demons that spoke to him in the Garden of Gethsemane and put off His death, we might still be waiting on our redemption, missing Paradise and stuck in the Bosom of Abraham once we die.  Sacrifice is meant to be carried out immediately to prevent our paths and wills from swaying.

In The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer speaks of Abraham’s sacrifice and says this “God could have begun out on the margin of Abraham’s life and worked inward to the center; He chose rather to cut quickly to the heart and have it over in one sharp act of separation.  In dealing thus He practiced an economy of means and time.  It hurt cruelly, but it was effective.”  This brings another element of sacrifice into the picture: the swiftness of sacrifice prevents the waste of other things and resources in our lives.

An example of this in my own life was the wedding of my best friend and sister to my close friend and brother.  Resources what they were and are, wisdom kept me from attending since everything that I’ve spent my time working for would have been swept away in one 4-day celebration.  Wisdom said don’t, while my heart said go.  My foolish heart!  A year ago, no one could have paid me to believe that I would choose to miss this long-awaited wedding.  I cried when I came to the realization of it.  But the greater good was and is my transition back to not just a different physical location, but a different, more mature place in my life.  If I could just convince my heart of what my mind new was best, I knew I would reap the benefits thereof.  And I have.  Furthermore, having the beautiful friends that I have, they—although sad—understood my situations, forgave me my absence, and know that I’ll be there for them in the future.  Had I continued on in a way that is financially irresponsible, causing me to rely on and drain other people of their emotions toward me as well as their own financial resources, I would eventually risk damaging those precious relationships and everything I’ve been working for.  In fact, this entire season of my life has been one of sacrifice.  Would I happily choose to live in a place I despise and know no one accept my own father? Absolutely not.  But I have wisely chosen it.  And now, with the season here ending, I have the satisfaction of knowing that soon, I can reap the lovely benefits of the sacrifices I have made.

Another example that I—along with several other Americans—have experienced is the wondrous destruction of overspending.  Whether its spending all the money in your bank accounts or maxing out your credit cards to purchase items you think you need, overspending has become the bane of our American existence.  Just take a look at the national deficit.  Living with debt has become an accepted way of life for us, much to our demise.  Would it not be better to own the clothes in your closets, the cars in your garage, and live within your means in peace and serenity than to constantly spend until you’re in the red and sink even further once we start to charge every little thing to our Visa cards, Discovery Cards, and American Express cards?  This, as we well know, causes us to dodge the daily phone calls from creditors tormenting us until we can come up with the funds with which to pay.  Ordering us to borrow money from our aging parents, unresponsible significant others, and overly-kind friends.  The irony of volunteering ones self to go further into debt in order to pay off debt is almost laughable.  If you’d like a hilarious illustration of this, just watch or read The Confessions of a Shopaholic.  This is no way to live!  And what happens if an expensive emergency or bout of unemployment hits us?  We have nothing and soon, we will have even less.  We will have proven Solomon’s words “the borrower is slave to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).

Sacrifice can take on many forms.  I’ve had to sacrifice relationships, living situations/preferences, shopping trips, theologies and mentalities and more.  Every single sacrifice has been painful, but worth it.  I like to say that it “hurts so good”.  The man that labours in the weight room, placing his body under subjection to reach his weight goal and desired muscle mass knows it.  The woman who gives up alcohol, coffee, a size 2, and comfort to bring life into the world knows it.  Like the minister who gives up the career and life they wanted, in order to pursue the higher calling of God full-time knows it.  They’re all forms of sacrifice.  And when the person who’s sacrificed reaches the end of their life, they’ll be able to look back with a clear conscious and see the fruits of their labours in life and it will all be worth it. 

Sacrifice is a thing demanded of us all.  Give in to it when it is necessary.  Kill the thing or desire swiftly in order to assure the completion of the order, thenn you too will enjoy the fruits of your sacrificial labour. 

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