Compassionate Sacrifice

Introduction

Three questions have been asked so far: Do you love people? Do you care about people? Do you allow people to see the real you? Now we are ready for a fourth question. Are you willing to sacrifice for others? This is a hard question—not because you aren’t willing but because we have some great difficulties standing in our way.

First, we are extremely busy people. Every bit of research says that we have less free time than we did as little as ten years ago. The National Sleep Institute reports that 63% of us do not get eight hours of sleep each night. Thirty-one percent get less than seven hours of sleep. They further report that the average work week is now forty-six hours, and 38% of us work sixty hours per week. In the most telling statistic, adults with children at any age get 6.7 hours of sleep per night. The National Sleep Institute reports that we still get our sleep—it just comes on the job or while driving. Less rest and more hours working translates into less energy and drive to do other things. When we are being encouraged to be sacrificial, we either begin to feel guilty or resentful, and neither one is the emotion or thought I want you to have tonight.

Second, whenever we start talking about making an impact in the lives of others, we often think about a new program or new ministry or some new thing to put on our already very busy calendars and schedules.

Before we go any further, let’s make sure we are on the same page. I am not suggesting in these lessons adding something to already busy schedules. The best place to make a real impact is with folks you already know and who you see on a regular basis. I am not suggesting a new program or ministry. We may need to adjust current practices to be in time more accommodative as we make our impact on our world. But for now I am talking about sacrifice in terms of what you are currently doing. What we are going to discuss tonight is making an impact with the people you already know. It is the idea of being tuned in to people around you and once tuned in demonstrating love, care, authenticity, and sacrifice for them.

Let’s Get Serious

When we are talking about making an impact in our world, we have to think in different ways. Sacrifice is the element which convinces people that we are serious about them and about demonstrating our faith. But how do we do this? How do we demonstrate our authenticity in sacrificial ways? The first way we do this is by giving the gift of time. Before you think I am contradicting myself, let me explain. Have you ever noticed in the gospel accounts that Jesus never seems to be in a hurry? There were definitely things that Jesus had to do and places he had to go, but he never seemed to be in a hurry.

Think about a particular incident in Jesus’ life. In Luke 19, Jesus enters into Jericho and is passing through the city. Where is he going? To Jerusalem. For what purpose? To die. Does he know this? Absolutely. And yet, in Jericho he stops to spend some time with Zacchaeus. Why? Verse 5 tells us that “he had to stay at his house today.” Jesus understood that his mission to die didn’t exclude giving some time to one man who crossed his path that day.

There are lots of folks who cross our path during the day. God brings people into our lives regularly. We have to be thinking about them. Your coworkers may need just a little bit of your time. Your neighbor, your family, your friends. When you speak to the person who you see every day at work, pause and look them in the eye. When they tell you what is going on with them (and they will tell you), take the time to really listen to what they are saying. Make a mental note to ask about that situation later. Write it down and pray about it. Then in a few days, ask how things are going with them. Let them see that you care. Let them see that you are sacrificing for them. Maybe you take them a single carnation, or a book that you think might be helpful, or maybe you just mention that you are praying for them—and you know what may happen. You have opened the door for a real situation to have a spiritual dimension. And you have made an impact.

Maybe you then invite them over for dinner or invite them to go to lunch and spend the time really getting to hear their story. Or maybe you stay after work just a few extra minutes to hug them and let them know you haven’t forgotten them. And you don’t forget. Does this require a program? No. It requires you thinking differently about people around you. It requires thinking more about others.

Take the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. Here is a guy who has no connection whatsoever to the hurt man other than he happens upon him. He sees a man in need. He sees that he is the one who can help him. He helps. He goes beyond just immediate needs and provides aid even after he must go on his way. We can suppose that the Samaritan and the hurt man never saw each other again. But we can also suppose that the Samaritan’s kindness was never forgotten. People have to see that we are serious about them. They have to know that we are willing to go beyond the immediate and provide what we can for longer than just a moment or two.

What does John say in his first epistle? “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” We have to put our money where our mouth is—or in this case, we have to put our authentic, compassionate sacrifice where people can see it and can experience it.

We have to show people that we love them, that we care about them, that we are real, that we are willing to give of ourselves for them. We have to take the initiative. We have to be the ones who start the process. We have to be the ones who have a purpose—to make an impact for good in the corner of our world.

Some will say that they can’t do that. Some will say that they aren’t outgoing and cannot initiate such intrusive behavior into another person’s life. Not all of us are outgoing. Many of us are shy, but I am not talking about standing in front of an audience and begin teaching. When you go to work, you will say to someone, “Hey, how are you doing?” Most of us keep walking. Stop and wait for an answer. “Fine. How are you?” “I’m doing well. I’m glad you are doing well too.” What happened? Nothing, you say. Really. By stopping and waiting for the response, you gave that person your undivided attention and the gift of time.

Let’s say you do this for several days. Guess what? You will begin to hear certain things in person’s voice. “How are you doing?” “Okay, I guess.” That person has just told you volumes. The door is open. Walk through it. Make an impact. “Well, it doesn’t sound like okay. What’s going on?” Or maybe you say, “Are you sure you’re okay? You sound kind of down.” Wait and let the person tell you. This is sacrificial. This will make a difference. It will take your time at the point of contact. It will take your time to carry through for days and weeks and months. It will take thinking differently about others. It will take compassionate sacrifice.

This may seem too simplistic. This may seem like it will not get very far. Try it. See if you can make it work. Maybe it isn’t at work. Maybe it is a neighbor. Maybe it is a friend. In either case, you already have the relationship—now you make your impact. You intentionally demonstrate your compassionate sacrifice to them so that they can see that you love them, care for them, are authentic with them, and sacrificial. It is a wonderful gift that you can give. Do you think the people in that lab ever forgot Slotin’s compassionate sacrifice? They won’t forget yours either.

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