Sacrifice is a value taught by Jesus and held in sanctity by Christians. But what does it mean to sacrifice? Following the Gospel may include many types of sacrifice. This article will examine the role of sacrifice in terms of helping others.
Sacrifice is defined as an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy. In relation to altruism, it means to act according to the interests of others, rather than your own interests. This is usually judged quantitatively, by asking ourselves questions such as:
- How much money did I donate?
- How much time did I spend helping others?
- How many projects did I volunteer for?
- How often did I donate or volunteer?
We recognize that a greater number of units of money, time, projects, etc, put towards helping others is better ethically, within limits to avoid harming ourselves, of course. We recognize this because we know that we will have a bigger impact with a larger quantity of altruism. We are trading off our own interests for the interests of others.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4
However, quantity is not the only measure of altruistic sacrifice. Equally important, and perhaps more challenging, are making qualitative sacrifices. Altruism always involves both quality and quantity. Therefore, the impact of altruism depends on both qualitative and quantitative sacrifice.
Qualitative altruistic sacrifice involves selecting among available options of helping others. These qualitative altruistic decisions must in fact be made prior to making quantitative ones.
Decisions need to be made to select the appropriate:
- Social problem
- Intervention of social problem
- Charity
- Career
- Timing of action
- Volunteer role
Sacrifice means to give up something valued for the sake of something more important. Usually, when we help others, we do so in a somewhat selfish way. We choose to donate to charities that warm our hearts rather than those which will help others the most. We seek volunteer opportunities which will give us good social interaction or career experience, rather than those that will offer the greatest benefit to society.
Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
1 Corinthians 10:24
Because altruistic actions vary thousands-fold in their expected impact, any altruism involves first selecting the right actions to take. That can involve giving up where we feel like donating or what we feel like doing in order to maximize the benefit we can provide to others. Casting aside our own biases, preferences, and self-benefit to make these qualitative decisions is the primary sacrifice involved in altruism.
Yes, it is hard. Yes, it involves pushing aside your ego. But just as it is necessary to make a quantitative sacrifice of deciding to give more in order to help others more effectively, it is necessary to make a qualitative sacrifice to accomplish the goal of Christian altruism — helping others as much as possible.