Food 4 Thought: Sacrifice
April: Sacrifice | March: Leadership
Each month the Men's Department of Holiness Tabernacle Church Of God In Christ has been given a theme to meditate on and the Food 4 Thought section will focus on each monthly theme. We believe that our responsibility is to Provide, Protect, Prevent and Procreate and the Food 4 Thought section will consist of articles that will encourage you to think, encourage you to grow, encourage you to act and encourage each man to be productive members of the Church and society.
Sacrifice
Luke 9:24; Luke 18:28-30; Philippians 3:8
According to the dictionary, sacrifice means:
- The offering of some material possession to God (as in propitiation or homage).
- The surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.
- To surrender or give up, or permit injury or disadvantage to, for the same of something else
Growing up in a single-parent home, sacrifice was not just a word, but it was a way of life. At an early age my father departed and left my mom with three boys (a 13-year-old, an 8-year-old, and a newborn). Two years later, a little girl was added to the count. No matter what was thrown her way, my mother never gave up because she had four prized possessions that had more pressing needs than her own. I learned sacrifice from my mom. We didn’t always have what we wanted, but we never lacked for anything. My mom sacrificed her time, her friends, but never her morals and her regard for the Lord, to shape me into the man that I am today. True sacrifice makes those around you better!
To sacrifice is to give up something that’s important to you for the betterment of others. David was known as a man after God’s own heart because he was obedient and he loved God. David also knew a thing or two about the importance of sacrifice. In 2 Samuel 24, David foolishly numbered the people against God’s direction and God gave him three choices for punishment. 1) seven years of famine, 2) running from his enemy for 3 months, or 3) three days of pestilence in the land. He didn’t want to flee from man and he knew that God’s mercy was great, so David chose pestilence. David took the easy way out. As a leader, we are responsible for the people under our watch. Whether you’re over the Deacons Board, working with the Youth, or coordinating the next fundraiser, a leader should protect his people no matter the sacrifice. At the end of three days, over seventy thousand people had perished at the hand of the angel of the Lord. As soon as he saw the cost of his decision, David’s heart went out to the people for he knew that he was responsible for those under his care. After David repented, God instructed him to build an altar on another man’s land. The man wanted to give David the land, but David understood that there HAS to be a cost to sacrifice something to God. If it’s free, it’s not a sacrifice, but if it takes blood, sweat, tears, and finance, those count as a sacrifice because it’s something dear to you!
As husbands, fathers, and leaders, we are often called to make sacrifices for the betterment of our families and our church and it is a sacrifice that we should we willing to make. Paul urges us in Romans 12:1 to “present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” When it comes to God, sacrifice is our reasonable service. Cleaning up the church . . . it’s a sacrifice. Mentoring the young men . . . it’s a sacrifice. Being present and participating at church . . . it’s a sacrifice. But if we’re all willing to make the sacrifice, it’s makes the load lighter because we’re working in concert with one another.
Sacrifice is not just about giving up things that are deemed important to you, it’s also about giving up things that are detrimental to you. We should sacrifice our pride in exchange for meekness. We should sacrifice our anger in exchange for peace, temperance and long suffering. We should sacrifice our stubborn will in exchange for love and joy. We should sacrifice our self-reliance with faith. We should sacrifice our hate and dislikes for gentleness and goodness. These sacrifices makes us better men and better leaders, just like giving up those things that are important to us, it makes others around us better.
Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice for our sins. Paul told the church at Philippi that he was willing to sacrifice everything so that he could win Christ. The disciples left all to follow Christ. What are you willing to sacrifice today to make your home, your job, your church and the world a better place today?