To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Prov 21:3 (AMP)
Part 4 – Why Would Someone Sacrifice?
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3
When it comes down to it, sacrifice is the revealer of love.
Why would someone sacrifice sleep in order to get to the gym?
Why would someone sacrifice eating junk food and eat healthy instead?
Why would someone sacrifice partying and fun and go to college or study instead?
Why would someone sacrifice their ego and stay faithful to their partner?
Why would someone sacrifice a weekend with friends to play with their kids?
Why would someone sacrifice greed and give to someone in need?
Why would someone sacrifice their downtime to help a heartbroken friend?
Why would someone sacrifice an early night and continue to work on a project?
Why would someone turn off the TV and go to bed to get a good night sleep?
Value. Belief. Love.
What you sacrifice and what you sacrifice for reveals what you love and value most in life.
What's more of a sacrifice? To do what is it right now? Or ask for forgiveness later?
The word ‘sacrifice’ is used here in Proverbs in this way because pre-Jesus, people would offer a blood sacrifice (of a lamb) to atone for their sins. It was how they asked for and acquired forgiveness; through ritual. The Message Bible says, “Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to God than religious performance.” When this verse talks about sacrifice, it’s talking about the ritualistic process of redemption, not the discipline of making choices based on your values.
Religious performance is something we all get caught up in from time to time, and it often comes from a place of pride and shame. Sometimes we engage in things that aren’t conducive to our authentic selves and our faith in the divine; to cover it up we perform, put on an act, in front of others to make them think that we have it all together. “If people see me perform a ‘sacrifice' (a religious ritual process), they might think my heart is in it and, therefore, that it is pure.” It happens when there is dissonance between your actions and who you want to be. God doesn't want us living with this ‘tug-of-war' tension in our hearts of who are and who we think we should be. It's not authentic.
We are human, and at the heart of our nature we are prone to wander from the path. Life is complicated. “Clean living and justice with our neighbours” isn’t a problem when life is good and the choices to achieve this state are easy to make. It's another thing entirely when telling a lie could get us out of trouble, or ignoring our neighbour is much easier than helping them clean up their mess… And this is where real sacrifice kicks in.
The sacrifice of obedience. But it’s not as black and white as it seems.
Go to Part 5 – Obedience vs Performance
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