16 Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have because God is pleased with these kinds of sacrifices.
Reflection
I’m a big fan of YouTube Yoga Sensation, Adriene Mishler. She is a former actress, Texan, Mexican American whose calming presence and accessible videos make yoga fun for both well-experienced yogis, and mediocre novice yogis like me. She recently spoke at an event where she said something that really struck me, “It’s good to make sacrifices for things that are meaningful.” It’s a concept that I guess logically I already knew was true, but it was different actually reflecting on and embodying that idea.
In today’s text, our writer is making a simple but profound statement: Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have because God is pleased with these kinds of sacrifices. I’m not sure if we always necessarily think about doing good as a means of sacrifice but it often is. So maybe with monetary giving this is more on the forefront – I give this money so I am sacrificing my having of it. This is very true and important and speaks to the sharing part of the text, but I think we sometimes let it stop there. Doing good can be filled with sacrifices, sacrifice of one time and energy, sometimes the sacrifice of popularity if the right thing is not what the majority is doing, sacrifice of things that we enjoy for other things we enjoy. Perhaps I sacrifice some time with friends because I need some time for myself. Perhaps I sacrifice watching my favorite show because I haven’t been outside in a while and should probably get some sun.
We typically think of these things as more of just making our schedule, but in doing making those priorities, we are making choices to sacrifice one thing for another. That’s how the things in our lives gain importance and that’s how we develop who we are and who we want to be: by what good we are sacrificing for.
Maybe I should sacrifice some couch time for another yoga video.
By Rachel Callender
For Pondering & Prayer
What role does sacrifice play in your life? How does it make things more meaningful for you?
Prayer: Holy God, You have given us this beautiful world and admit that we haven’t always done good with it. Help us to make meaningful sacrifices this day so that your kingdom may flourish. Amen.
Comments are closed.