Sacrifice: How far do you go?

My wife and I have had some discussions recently about sacrifice. Nothing major, just little side conversations about how far we are to go in sacrificing for our spouses, our children, etc.

Christ calls us to "love one another as I have loved you." Christ loved us by dying, sacrificing everything for us. So how far are we to go? St. Paul says that husbands must love their wives as Christ loved the Church, laying down his life for us (cf. Eph 5).

I know in my own marriage, family that I am willing to die for my wife and children. Truthfully I believe I'm willing to die for most people I care about, but especially my family. I feel extremely confident that it is my responsibility to be willing to sacrifice my life for my wife and children.

But what about sacrifice that does not require actual death? What about sacrificing my wants, my desires, my career if it came to that? How far am I willing to go to sacrifice for my wife and children - my primary vocation? If it came down to it would I give up my career in youth ministry to in turn spend more time with them or to make more money so they could be more comfortable? (Just so you know this is not something we're discerning now - those of you at St. Leo's don't start thinking I'm planning to leave, this is not an issue at this point.)

There are so many aspects to this question and so many areas of our lives that we could be called to sacrifice. In fact I think that in our society today if more husbands and wives would consider that sacrifice is a part of their marriage we probably would have less divorcees our there. Marriage is about more than "compromise" or "give and take" it is about laying down your life for the other.

Sacrifice plays a role in all of our relationships, dealings - not just marriage. So the question I pose for discussion here is how far are we to go in sacrificing for our spouses, our children, or others that we love?

I do believe it is a discussion worth having. Please post your thoughts in the comments section and share this post with others who you think ought to share.

May we all learn to love as Christ loved us, laying down his life.

In Christ,
Chris Faddis
Husband, father, youth minister, blogger, goofball