Iron Mountain ski jump

Iron Mountain ski jump

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

A SHORT INCOMPLETE PRIMER ON SACRIFICE 6-20-17

A SHORT INCOMPLETE PRIMER ON SACRIFICE    6-20-17

Not all sacrifices are equal. Some folks make small sacrifices and claim they are even with those who made great sacrifices.

Sacrifices for self and sacrifices for others are different. Is “sacrificing” smoking to save your own lungs the same as giving it up to save your baby’s lungs? Is it “sacrificing,” at all, or just “giving it up?” Giving something up and making a sacrifice are very different.

We tend to say “sacrifice” about everything we “give up,” which demeans sacrifice. A sacrifice is not for self. You don’t sacrifice something for the sake of your own health, physical or emotional, even though we use that phrase. A sacrifice is for another person, or for a cause, which is another person writ large.

It’s not a sacrifice if you are doing it in order to get something for yourself.

JRMcF
johnrobertmcfarland@gmail.com

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