Good Relationships Start With YouExemplo

Sacrifice

By now, we’ve established that relationships are more than just accessories in our life. They are part of the fabric of who we are. Relationships help us reflect God’s image more fully and become more like Christ. They do this by exposing sin so we can address it and by providing opportunities to practice humility and unity. What’s more, connections move us toward greater levels of sacrifice.

Sometimes our sacrifices are tangible and require us to surrender time, money, or resources for those we care about. Some examples include: a parent foregoing a new pair of shoes so the children can get theirs; a man choosing not to eat lunches out so he can save money to give an unemployed friend; or grandparents offering to babysit the grandkids rather than go on a cruise.

Other sacrifices are hard to name and even harder to measure. They involve giving up attention, popularity, preferences, and even security for the sake of being present for and in relationship with others. These are the sacrifices of passing up opportunities—of letting another person get the credit or choosing to do things some way other than your own.

Sometimes—probably more often than we’d like—the sacrifice runs only one way. In his sermon “Strong Friendships (Part 2),” Dr. Stanley says, “When I love sacrificially, that means I’m willing to love you whether it’s reciprocated or not. I’m willing to love you whether it costs in finances, time, relationship, or whatever it might be. But there is always a sacrifice in developing a genuine personal relationship.”

REFLECT

• How have others sacrificed to help you get where you are today?
• How often are your sacrifices tangible, or measurable—like time, money, and resources?
• When was the last time you sacrificed an opportunity or opinion in order to preserve a relationship or serve others?