Sacrifices

It is easy to applaud the sacrifices that some people make. The missionary who leaves for the foreign land to learn a new language and a new culture comes to mind first. The young person who gives his time and talent to serve in an innercity church or homeless shelter when it would be much easier to serve on staff of a large suburban church. The older lady who faithfully cooks for others and sends cards of encouragement to many and pays for these materials out of her own limited resources. All of these sacrifices are noble and noteworthy, but many times we fail to see the sacrifices of some who appear not to be making any.

I have been priviliged to know quite a few committed Christians who were gifted in business and who became quite wealthy without losing their relationship to Christ. To see them, with their nice houses and cars, and to see them making significant contributions to ministries, one would think that theirs is a lifestyle to be envied. But I have also seen what many never see; I have seen what they sacrifice to do the work God has called them to do. They wonder if anyone really likes them for who they are, or if they are just liked for the possibilities they present. Knowing that they can't possibly fund every request from every ministry that makes a request, they have to say "no" many more times than they say "yes". And in saying "no", they have to endure the comments. "I guess my little ministry isn't high-profile enough." "They only give to their buddies." "After giving millions to (fill in the blank) you would think they could give me $100,000." I know from personal experience that those comments hurt, and cause the large giver to put up walls. They enter new friendships dreading the inevitable request to "just look at my ministry idea and let me benefit from your wisdom" which is ministry code for "I want you to give me a lot of money." The large giver sacrifices moving easily into friendship relationships. That is a large sacrifice.

I have known a few, but not many, true Bible scholars. These folks devote their lives to the research and study of the Scriptures. They learn many things about the history of the original texts, the ancient councils, and the original languages. People envy their knowledge and understanding. But they too have made their sacrifices. In attaining their level of knowledge, they have not lost their appreciation for or trust in the Bible, but they have lost, in many ways, the ability to have the simple trust in scriptural promises that come easily to average folks. They face a constant challenge to be able to communicate Bible truth to average folks. It can become more difficult to have conversations with Biblical illiterates because it goes against their nature to allow simple assumptions about God and his nature to go uninvestigated and undeconstructed. Their sacrifice in many cases is a lost ability to enjoy the simple pleasure of conversations with people just starting their spiritual discovery without feeling the need to go deep and make sure that every conclusion is accurate and justified. That is a large sacrifice.

There are many ways to "die to self" and to give all for the cause of Christ. Many of them are disguised as success. All of them require sacrifices many of us are unwilling to make. We need to appreciate them all.