The Logic of Self-Sacrifice

In case you were wondering if there was a reason I only put up two posts last week, it's because Saturday was my birthday. So I took a day off. :)

Here's another post by Threnody. I almost skipped it because the content is very similar to some things that I've gone over very recently - and I don't like beating dead horses. Or live ones, to be honest. But as I thought about it, I think there's an underlying issue that I may have missed. The underlying issue is the misunderstanding of the virtues of self-sacrifice.

I've addressed why, in order to make people, God had to create men with the ability to choose, why sin is what it is, and why sin isn't just an arbitrary judgment, so I'll not go back over that - if you don't remember, please go back to "Long One" (a two-parter).

Then there is the question and answer, "Who chose not to call ten legions of angels? God did." Now, I'm not sure what the mental context for this is, but what comes to my mind at the mention of legions of angels is Matthew 26:52-53. This is where Christ tells Peter to put his sword away because Jesus has at His disposal all the angels, but His purpose in coming was to go to the cross.

When Threnody said that "God didn't have to do any of those things," she's sort of right and sort of not. From one perspective, God didn't need us, so of course He didn't have to make anything. God was not lacking in anything in His eternal state before the universe existed. So, from that point of view, He didn't have to make men, or take any of the subsequent steps. However, God wanted to make men - and that means, from a different point of view, that He HAD to. To not do what He desires would have been just as wrong for Him as it would be for me to not do what He desires.

In the same way, the rest of the stuff HAD to (and didn't have to) happen, depending on how you're looking at it. Christ didn't HAVE to die on the cross, but at the same time, because God is loving and merciful, He did. Who God is, with His multitude of glorious attributes, dictated what He would do. What people mean (or, should mean) when they say that "God didn't have to" is that no outside force was making Him. God chose to do what He did - His choices (like ours) are determined though, by Who He is. God is just - that's why not all are saved. God is love - that's why Christ came. God is merciful - that's why some are saved. God is good - that's why unjust and just alike enjoy this good earth. Etc. etc.

And finally, we come to the main point of the post - why self-sacrifice makes sense. First, what is self-sacrifice? Basically, it's just giving up something of your own for the sake of someone or something else. My mother is very self-sacrificing, but I don't think a lot of people people see it that way because it makes her so happy. She will give food, money, time, talent, housing - and all while she's feeling sick and has a pounding headache. And she'll do it happily.

Does that remove the sacrificial part? Of course not. She's still giving something for the sake and well-being of others. This is a very important point, because half of the reason that self-sacrifice makes sense is because it has the extraordinary power of giving joy to the one sacrificing! Do you think that Christ went to the cross grudgingly? He did not. He laid His life down WILLINGLY. Why? Because it pleased Him to obey His Father, and it pleased Him to help us. Self-sacrifice, while it can be very difficult, if done with the right attitude, makes the giver very joyful.

The second reason is that helping those around us makes life better for us. If the standard of the whole world rose - in anything - we would all benefit. So if I sacrifice a day off to help teach a math class for poor people, it's beneficial to me as well as them. If I take an afternoon to teach the neighbor kids about how to safely cross the street, it's beneficial to my kids who are going to be playing with them. And that is beneficial to me.

You might think that none of it is really self-sacrificing then. The difference is the reason. Self-sacrifice doesn't do it for me. It just makes sense because, in all honesty, I benefit too. Self-sacrifice is still DOING it for THEM, not for what I get. What I get is just part of why it's logical.

Well, what did God get? God grew His family; He redeemed a bunch of people and now His family is HUGE, and eventually, He will have exactly what He wanted from the beginning - men worshipping Him, communing with Him and enjoying Him, for the simple reason that they love Him.

The fact that Jesus gave His life for us ought to overwhelm us with awe that He loved us when we hated Him, that He would go teach the class for people who wanted to kill Him and give us a better life. It's pretty incredible when people give you money for no apparent reason. The more they gave, the more you tend to feel humbled or awed. God gave Himself. Jesus DIED for me. He took my place of His own free will. If my mother-in-law gave me her china set, I think my mind would be blown a bit. God gave me life - twice.

In closing, Threnody said that "all of that reasoned from the premise that the Bible is true." Just to be clear, she skipped over a lot of the Bible to come up with that reasoning.