Jul
Another Look at Sacrifice
There has been some talk lately about sacrifice. Those doing most of the talking do not have the macht to go into a situation where they can really get hurt. True sacrifice means facing the likelihood of harm.
Every soldier, naval sailor, airman and marine knows sacrifice. Just getting into the military involves sacrificing safety and comfort. Basic and advanced training are grueling and they hurt. That is the price of entry. Combat involves other sacrifices, including the ultimate. Soldiers fight for their comrades. They sacrifice for one another. Soldiers are not suicide fighters. They do not willingly seek to get themselves killed. Each one knows that winning is not in losing your life, but making the enemy lose his life.
A boxer knows sacrifice. To walk into the ring is to accept the certainty of pain. No boxer ever emerges unscathed. As good as a boxer is, or as poor as his opponent is, he will still get hit many times. A boxer is willing to accept that pain in order to get what he wants.
The same goes for a street fighter. Forget the kung fu movie where the hero is unscathed. In a real brawl, everyone gets something. It may be a few bruises or a twisted arm or worse. The winner and loser will both suffer something, although the loser tends to suffer most. That is the price of a street fight. A fighter goes in knowing he will walk out of there with some pain. He wants to win so badly that he is willing to accept it.
Our examples are drawn from fighting, but battle is not the only way to endure pain in order to win. Many a goal requires some kind of pain, strain or discomfort. Achieving the goal comes after experiencing the pain. As they say in boxing, sometimes you have to take a punch in order to win. Sometimes success means willingly accepting pain.
Pain can be physical. It may be agonizing and excruciating. The pain can also be emotional, social or mental. It might be sorrow or fear. It may be humiliation or ignominy. It can be the agony of being an outcast, or the stigma of being mistaken for a fool. Pain comes in many forms.
Have you ever felt something was worth the pain? Have you ever wanted something that bad? Have you ever felt something was so worth protecting that it was worth taking pain? Has someone been so valuable to you that you are willing to put yourself in extreme discomfort for her benefit? Have you ever believed in something with such conviction that you were willing to give up everything for it? If you can answer a resounding YES to at least one of these questions, then you understand the value of making a difference. (If you answer NO to all of them, then something is missing in yourself and you had better find it.)
The great sacrifice means that something matters so much that you will endure great travail for it. It might be serious physical injury, excruciating pain, emotional turmoil, or social stigma. It may require losing everything, from your friends and social standing to your home and finances. Sacrifice is not suicide. Sacrifice is what you are willing to risk for something or someone that you value greatly.
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You cannot learn the truth about sacrifice from the timid man. All he knows is how to avoid it.
You cannot learn courage from the coward. All he knows is how to run from it.
You cannot learn valor from the self-indulgent. All he knows is how to avoid discomfort.
For sacrifice, ask the one who has commitment.
For courage, ask the one who places right above his own fear.
For valor, ask the one who endures travail in pursuit of right.
