The Lost Art of Sacrifice

sac·ri·fice [sak-ruh-fahys] noun, verb,-ficed, -fic·ing.

–noun

1. the offering of animal, plant, or human life or of some material possession to a deity, as in propitiation or homage.

2. the person, animal, or thing so offered.

3. the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.

4. the thing so surrendered or devoted.

5. a loss incurred in selling something below its value.

6. Also called sacrifice bunt, sacrifice hit. Baseball. a bunt made when there are fewer than two players out, not resulting in a double play, that advances the base runner nearest home without an error being committed if there is an attempt to put the runner out, and that results in either the batter's being put out at first base, reaching first on an error made in the attempt for the put-out, or being safe because of an attempt to put out another runner.

–verb (used with object)

7. to make a sacrifice or offering of.

8. to surrender or give up, or permit injury or disadvantage to, for the sake of something else.

9. to dispose of (goods, property, etc.) regardless of profit.

10 Baseball. to cause the advance of (a base runner) by a sacrifice.

–verb (used without object)

11. Baseball. to make a sacrifice: He sacrificed with two on and none out.

12. to offer or make a sacrifice.

Origin:
1225–75; (n.) ME <>sacrificium, equiv. to sacri- (comb. form of sacer holy) + -fic-, comb. form of facere to make, do¹ + -ium -ium;(v.) ME sacrifisen, deriv. of the n.

—Related forms

sac·ri·fice·a·ble, adjective

sac·ri·fic·er, noun

non·sac·ri·fice, noun

non·sac·ri·fic·ing, adjective

pre·sac·ri·fice, noun, verb,-ficed, -fic·ing.

su·per·sac·ri·fice, noun, verb (used with object),-ficed, -fic·ing.

un·sac·ri·fice·a·ble, adjective

un·sac·ri·ficed, adjective

un·sac·ri·fic·ing, adjective

well-sac·ri·ficed, adjective

—Synonyms
8. relinquish, forgo, renounce.

I’ve been thinking a lot about sacrifice recently, and how it really applies to humans. Generally people today don’t truly understand what sacrifice is. It’s a wordy that’s bandied around when two people are fighting in order to gain a leg up in the argument or to throw a guilt trip. But really what is sacrifice?

Biblically sacrificing was begun in the Garden of Eden. You know the story. Adam and Eve eat what they are told not to, hide from God and make clothes out of leaves to hide their nakedness, from themselves and God. This would have worked beautifully if they hadn’t introduced death into the world. We all know what happens to leaves after you take them off the tree. Crunchy clothes. YAY! (Sarcasm by the way) God say this and made them clothes of animal skins. Animals had to die for those clothes to be made, and thus the very first sacrifice was made. Now, knowing what we know of what was required of the followers of early Judaism in the realm of animal sacrificing for the atonement of sins, we can safely assume that of all the perfect creatures that God made in an unblemished world, He chose the most perfect of the perfect (is that possible? For the sake of this post; Yes, Yes it is.)

After this first sacrifice God required a sacrifice to atone for the sins of humanity, which were to fit certain rules. There were different kinds of sacrifices (different animals, grain) the common thing about all sacrifices is that it had to be the best of your belongings. The best, unblemished lambs, bulls, doves, grain, et cetera.

So at the very beginning, (even in other religions that called for sacrifices, it was always called for the best of what you owned to be sacrificed) Sacrifice was knowingly, willingly giving up the best for

Sacrificing was the action of thinking outside of yourself. Of looking at the greater good, and saying, what’s one spotless, perfect lamb that would sell well or feed my family in comparison with the Presence and favor of the Creator of the universe?

Somewhere along the way we’ve lost what the spirit of sacrifice is. We make token gestures, “sacrificing” that old wardrobe, or furniture to goodwill or a family in need. But then we go and by better for ourselves. TRUE sacrifice would be buying the nice clothes and the better furniture and giving THAT to goodwill or a family in need. But that’s two difficult because we are selfish creatures.

I guess it boils down to, sacrifice, TRUE sacrifice is an act of love and devotion. The early Jewish people sacrifice because of their love and devotion for the Lord. We sacrifice our hopes, desires, and dreams, so that those we love can achieve something. So that they can have something they have always wanted. The funny thing is, that when done for the right reasons, it doesn’t feel like the best we own is being stripped, it’s a joyful experience of giving up something that turned out to be not nearly as important as what we gained. The happiness and joy of someone we care about.

There’s a scene in A Knights Tale that I think of sometimes when I think of sacrifice:

William is telling Jocelyn that he loves her and that to prove his love he is going to win this tournament for her. Jocelyn rolls her eyes, and tells him “If you love me, you will give up your pride and you will lose the match.” Of course Will, says he won’t do it, and that’s she’s mad and rails against losing. Will tells her that he will not lose. She simply replies; “then you do not love me.” Of course Will does end up taking blow after blow and losing, but upon seeing that he truly does love her, she no longer wants him to lose. It wasn’t that Jocelyn wanted him to lose, so much as show that He was willing to sacrifice the best of his personal desires and wants because he loved her.

I like to think that William realized two things; A) He truly loved Jocelyn enough to do whatever it took to make her his, and B) that he realized that the momentary and fleeting victory in the Tournament was paltry in comparison to life with Jocelyn. And to think, his pride almost lost him the love of his life.

In the end that is all sacrifice is. Sometimes we really do have to lose (and not just be willing to lose, or start to lose) in order to gain. It’s one of those paradoxes of life that doesn’t really make sense until you experience it, and then it’s the most natural thing in the world.

Are you willing to lose what you hold dear and love, in order to gain something infinitely better than a momentary victory?