Article October 22, 1938 Issue

The True Meaning of Sacrifice

LA RUE M. HODGES

The Psalmist declared, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Through a casual reading of some portions of the Bible one may gain a wrong impression of the meaning of sacrifice. Indeed, this false opinion, which is associated with the sense of surrendering something desirable, seems repellent to human thought, and may, in certain instances, have acted as a deterrent to active service in the cause of righteousness. Some persons may, therefore, have hesitated to seek God, because they have mistakenly believed that spiritual advancement would necessarily deprive them of joy, freedom, and cherished privileges.

A thorough study of the teachings of Christian Science on this subject, however, corrects the erroneous concept of sacrifice and convinces the sincere seeker for Truth that he is not required to give up anything real or right. Indeed, in Christian Science divine Mind leads one to relinquish material theories and wrong practices, and to replace them with worthy motives and aims. The faithful and alert student early learns that this scientific procedure unfailingly results in greater satisfaction, increasing happiness, and a deeper peace than could ever have been brought about by the pursuit of the fleeting material pleasures which he may formerly have sought. He finds, too, that the unfoldment of and obedience to God's beneficent purpose in his life invariably carries with it a rich reward.

In seeking the meaning of sacrifice, we may find the following dictionary definition of the word somewhat helpful: "Surrender of some desirable thing in behalf of a higher object." Even humanly considered, one would readily concede that the surrender of something, although it may appear desirable, for the attainment of a "higher object," would be the truly intelligent course to follow. Certainly, it is safe to assume that there is no one who would not willingly wish to surrender an object or possession for something of greater value and benefit. By the same token, we shall surely discover, through spiritualization of our thought in Christian Science, the wisdom and joy of giving up sorrow that we may gain true bliss; of discarding fear, anixety, discouragement, and acquiring poise, peace, and confidence; of relinquishing belief in lack, poverty, limitation for the realization and demonstration of spiritual abundance, affluence, true substance; of rejecting sloth, apathy, indifference for joyous activity and accomplishment; of overcoming the errors of suffering, disease, pain with the understanding that true health is spiritual and is therefore indestructible. Does not such righteous mental activity, or prayer, constitute, in part at least, the sacrifices of "a contrite heart," which our just and loving Father-Mother God will "not despise"?

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