Sacrifice (from a Middle English verb meaning "to make sacred", from Old French, from Latin sacrificium: sacr, "sacred" + facere, "to make") is commonly known as the practice of offering food, objects (typically valuables), or the lives of animals or people to the gods as an act of propitiation or worship. The term is also used metaphorically to describe selfless good deeds for others or a short term loss in return for a greater gain.
Self-sacrifice, the act of deliberately following a course of action that has a high risk or certainty of suffering or death (which could otherwise be avoided), in order to achieve a perceived benefit for certain others, is a powerful theme with a well-established place in many cultures, myths, and societies. Self-sacrifice may also be more broadly defined as selflessness, or the readiness to inflict pain upon yourself to save others; it is this definition which, for example, Leo Tolstoy embraced and espoused.
This theme has many different meanings for many different people. Sacrifice could mean what you gave up for lent for the upcoming Easter or Resurrection day. Perhaps to someone else, sacrifice means a military member who goes in harms way, knowing and despite those costs, so that others can live in peace and have the luxury of knowing that someone is out there watching over them. To a chess player losing a piece in an exchange to open up an opponents defense for attack or maybe the contract bridge player bidding at a higher level knowing it will fail but also knowing that cost will still be less than his adversaries score. Sometimes a sacrifice could be in the form of a sacrifice fly when a baseball player intentionally hits a fly ball deep into out field so that a runner can easily advance to the next base and perhaps putting them in a better scoring position if not scoring at all.
To me, the term sacrifice has the most value in meaning when someone gives their life for others. The ultimate sacrifice comes in the form of a soldier, a sailor, a marine or an airman who willingly goes into harms way to protect those freedoms we cherish and take for granted and then pays that price with his or her life. Anyone who can sacrifice their life for that of another is a tremendous price. One that very few are willing to pay.
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” ~ John 15:13
Self-sacrifice, the act of deliberately following a course of action that has a high risk or certainty of suffering or death (which could otherwise be avoided), in order to achieve a perceived benefit for certain others, is a powerful theme with a well-established place in many cultures, myths, and societies. Self-sacrifice may also be more broadly defined as selflessness, or the readiness to inflict pain upon yourself to save others; it is this definition which, for example, Leo Tolstoy embraced and espoused.
This theme has many different meanings for many different people. Sacrifice could mean what you gave up for lent for the upcoming Easter or Resurrection day. Perhaps to someone else, sacrifice means a military member who goes in harms way, knowing and despite those costs, so that others can live in peace and have the luxury of knowing that someone is out there watching over them. To a chess player losing a piece in an exchange to open up an opponents defense for attack or maybe the contract bridge player bidding at a higher level knowing it will fail but also knowing that cost will still be less than his adversaries score. Sometimes a sacrifice could be in the form of a sacrifice fly when a baseball player intentionally hits a fly ball deep into out field so that a runner can easily advance to the next base and perhaps putting them in a better scoring position if not scoring at all.
To me, the term sacrifice has the most value in meaning when someone gives their life for others. The ultimate sacrifice comes in the form of a soldier, a sailor, a marine or an airman who willingly goes into harms way to protect those freedoms we cherish and take for granted and then pays that price with his or her life. Anyone who can sacrifice their life for that of another is a tremendous price. One that very few are willing to pay.
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” ~ John 15:13
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