In the Christian life, the call to sacrifice is clear, loud and unambiguous. It is a call that is, and always has been, a “hard teaching,” certainly a hard sell. Perhaps one of the reasons for this lies in a lack of understanding of the notion of “sacrifice.”

Sacrifice is usually interpreted in today’s culture as an unrealistic expectation, an extreme asceticism, in which genuine discipleship and Christian spiritual development require a growing repudiation of self.

In Music and Worship in the Church, authors Austin Lovelace and William Rice write, “While many people claim to love the ‘old rugged cross,’ they really prefer to have it on a hill and very far away.”

Body and Soul

There is a point of view, a heresy of the early church, which argued that the human or physical realm was entirely evil and only the divine was good.

Extreme positions such as this have the tendency to generate extreme reactions, such as the prosperity gospel, where wealth, influence and admiration are seen as evidence of discipleship.

The Pharisees were early proponents of the prosperity gospel. They considered wealth to be proof of a person’s righteousness. The poor, in their opinion, were unrighteous and simply suffering the consequences.

Such a point of view quickly produces hardened hearts that see not only righteousness in wealth but also extra righteousness in remaining separate from the poor.

Scripture never calls us to extremes, but rather to balance, lived extremely. As disciples of Jesus Christ, he is our primary model. It is his sacrifice and simplicity that informs our aspirations.

The Rich Man and the Beggar

In response to the scoffing of the Pharisees, Jesus told the parable of the rich man and the beggar (see Luke 16:19-31), which cuts through all the rationalizations about wealth and success common to each generation.

The fact that the rich man had a large capacity to generate income was not something Jesus held against him. The fact that he retained all his money and spent it on himself was the issue.

While many people claim to love the ‘old rugged cross,’ they really “prefer to have it on a hill and very far away.”

Money is not the only area of sacrifice for the Christian. Others include the sacrifices of time for prayer, appetite in fasting and ego in forgiveness, among many others. Money, however, is a good place to start.

For Jesus, the only question raised by wealth was its use.

Biblical Generosity

The Bible makes it clear that part of the financial resources given to us by God needs to be retained to sustain self, family and provide the ability to generate income. Giving should be in proportion to one’s means, and Christians are called to apply their wealth scripturally.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is good news for both the rich and the poor because, among other things, it gives the wealth of the rich a point. It meets the physical needs of the poor because it includes them in the context of a secular society that doesn’t.

Jesus’ attitude to personal resources is summarized in Luke 12:34: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Jesus and his disciples were not known as poor and destitute, because they weren’t; they had both divine and human support. They were compassionate to the poor and destitute, providing spiritual, emotional and physical resources.

Christians are not called to be the poorest in the neighbourhood. They are called to live out a simple but well-presented model of good stewardship, earning as much as they can and giving away as much as they can, while maintaining a good witness to the provision of a loving and righteous God.

Accountability

As Christians, we all know whether we are being sacrificial in what we do by each attitude and action we express. We know deep within our hearts whether we are sacrificing something of ourselves or holding back. 

Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian philosopher and author, once observed, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” It is only as we are willing to change ourselves, through the help of the Spirit of God and through sacrificial living, that we can effectively introduce the values of the kingdom of God into today’s world.

Catherine Booth, co-Founder of The Salvation Army, wrote in Papers on Aggressive Christianity in 1891: “Show the world a real, living, self-sacrificing, hard-working, toiling, triumphant religion and the world will be influenced by it, but anything less they will turn around and spit upon.”

Catherine Booth set out the ethos of The Salvation Army at its inception. She called for a movement that would live out the gospel in a practical and sacrificial way. She wanted to condition society and not have society shape or condition the Army. Only then, she believed, could the Army deliver a credible message to society.

The Witness of Simplicity

In Spiritual Disciplines and Practices, Robert Longman Jr. writes, “By taking our focus off getting stuff, we have more of ourselves available to focus on learning to love rightly, or taking time to be face-to-face with those in need, or learning Scripture or learning how to depend on the Spirit.”

The Bible reflects back to each of us the challenge to live out our lives in a way that will be countercultural. The prosperity gospel says we could all live as kings and queens when we are called to live lives of simplicity, generosity and radical love for others. Jesus and his disciples changed the world with this countercultural stance and so can we.

Reprinted from War Cry, July 23, 2022, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Territory.

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