Sacrifice
From Zanecorpwiki
I believe humility is the noblest of virtues. It could be said that humility is in fact the source of all other virtue, for humility is necessary for us to exhibit all other virtue--prudence, justice, forbearance, temperance, fortitude--to truly excel in all these things we must lose the self. In this way, humility is part and parcel with honest sacrifice.
When dealing with sacrifice we should be aware of this nugget of nobility at all times. It should be a thing we aspire to not only achieve, but to manifest, for what we are talking about here is the thing that truly makes us great. This is the essence of the mythology of sacrifice. Sacrifice is emthe/em central concept of Jesus who sacrificed his life, and of Buddha, who sacrificed himself. This is the essence of spirituality or religion or whatever one may call it: the idea of giving one's self over to a larger reality. Not simply in subverting one's desires, but in it's purest form, in destroying the self to become a part of something better.
One need not be spiritual or religious to understand sacrifice. It is the essence of hero. Sacrifice is precisely how we grow, how we become more than we are. It is the essence of humanism. To become something better, the thing which we were must pass away. We must give up an ignorance, a selfishness, a mistake, a past, a grudge, our time, a wish, a dream, and sometimes our life.
The Negative Sacrifice
When we give up a negative--an ignorance or a mistake--there is always pain stemming from the acceptance of the negative effects that proceeded from our faulty beliefs. We must accept the pain we caused others, caused ourselves, we must recognize the potential that was squandered, and fundamentally, we must face the realization that the world as it is right now could have been just that much better.
We do this not to wallow in self pity, and we certainly do not ask it of others in order to lord it over them. To often, when faced with a sacrifice of this nature, our response is Well, finally, you agree. Now you see it. Because of the hurt we caused others, we do not want to accept forgiveness, and because of the hurt that was inflicted on us, we do not want to give it.
There is something in forgiveness and contrition that, in my experience, the best Christians understand--the thing that makes Catholic confession a divine sacrament: understanding and respecting the that pain comes with acknowledging mistakes, and the potential to do better.
Yet Catechism is not necessary to see this. No matter one's way of imagining how the world came to be or where it is going, when a thief comes to you and says, I am sorry, I will make restitution. When one who has wronged us honestly says, I am sorry, I will do what I can to make it right. When those who have mistakenly opposed us say: I see the error of my ways, teach me. And when we ourselves wrong others, when we make mistakes, all of must understand that contrition is beautiful and deserving our respect.
How can the sinner who fails to see the value of contrition be contrite? How can the man who fails to see the value in forgiveness expect contrition. To receive sincere apology, we must respect the apology. We must at all times be willing to admit mistakes and respect contrition.
This does not mean that all that is forgiven should be forgotten. If there were no consequences, even the most sincere of regrets would turn empty with time. The proper answer to the most contrite of murderers is I hope your time in jail gives you the opportunity to truly make your contrition manifest. When the mistake is large, the sacrifice itself--the pain and the years--must be proportionate.
To be truly contrite, one must expect and accept punishment. Even before that, the penitent must be prepared to accept the reaction of those whom he or she has wronged and understand that forgiveness is itself a sacrifice often just as difficult as the contrition.
The Positive Sacrifice
As we fail to appreciate the negative sacrifice, we just as often err in our response to positive sacrifice. Giving up of a dream or a life is no small matter, and to sell such a thing cheaply is no sacrifice, but a thing to be pitied. Earlier I suggested that one might look to the best Christians to understand the nature of forgiveness and contrition as it relates to sacrifice. On the other hand, this is the thing that the even the best Christians fail to understand: there is no worth in blind devotion, and there is no such thing as blind humility.
Humility is rooted integrity and character. One must face forward, both eyes open, with knowing and full intent before one can bow with any meaning.
I myself feel I am best described as a Christian apostate, and here is precisely the reason why: consider the story of Abraham, and then honestly look into your heart and ask which is the nobler sacrifice? Murder one's child to avoid the wrath of God, or saying No, I will risk your favor, I will risk your punishment, even unto eternal damnation, I will not murder my child. In the first, there is tragedy, difficulty, and pain, but there is no sacrifice because nothing worthy can be gained. If there is a test, it is this: when we say, even unto God, even in the face of eternal punishment, I will not do this thing because it is wrong, then if there is a plan for us, if there some higher purpose for us to fulfill, that is when we shall fulfill it, that is when we shall be worthy.
Sacrifice in Daily Life
Yet, sacrifice need not be so melodramatic and fraught with theological pitfalls. Sacrifice is most often not a big thing. The person who aspires to a simple life of small sacrifice has done more for the world than many of the men and women in our history books. And it isn't hard. The practice of is joyful. As we let go of ignorance and mistakes we experience a kind of deferred pain, yet as we move forward, we make less mistakes. We recapture our innocence.
Who wouldn't trade dogma for understanding, toil for progress, ignorance for knowledge, greed for fulfillment. Even when we sacrifice our dreams, our time, our lives, the entire point is that we sacrifice them for something better.
Be on guard. Ideally, we would be willing to give up whatever is necessary, but do not fail to recognize the potential in what you are willing to give up. Ideally, we would be careful with all the bargains we make, but do not become dismayed by past carelessness. Revel in what sacrifices you can make.
Don't super size if all it does is make you fat. Don't hold onto your money when a vacation would make you happy. Don't work 60 hour weeks and risk a heart attack so someone else can profit. Don't end your life without doing something you love. Don't risk your life in a war that you don't believe. Don't waste what you have.
Understanding sacrifice is hard. Not because sacrifice is hard, but because it's easy. When we engage honestly, with our eyes and hearts open, we know this is something I should give my money to, this is something I should give my time to, this is something I should give my life to. Our money, our time, and our life: all these things will be lost to us. The only question is what we will squander, and what we will sacrifice in pursuit of a better world.
