Sacrifice Brings Blessings
Sacrifice is giving up something you hold dear for something that you desire and treasure more. Sacrifice is not easy. It requires personal discipline and constant effort to place others above self. It requires vision to see long-term fruits instead of short-term gratification. It requires time, one of hardest things to give. To be willing to place our interests and needs behind those of another reflects one of the most precious acts of love in mortality.
The Savior’s sacrifice for us is beyond description and understanding. He willingly placed our interests and needs above His. His example to “love one another” is a constant invitation to lift those around us before seeking our own interests. This is especially true in a marriage relationship, where sacrifice is an essential, refining gift to help us find true joy in becoming one.
When you are willing to love the Lord with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, He will show you how to love and sacrifice for each other. There is no happiness in selfishness. True happiness comes in serving one another. The sacred gift of marriage provides an opportunity for eternal growth and progression that can only come through sacrifice.
The following ideas can help you plan together how you can have joy in the blessings of sacrifice:
- Take inventory of where you spend your time and the worldly distractions that keep you from spending more time with the Lord. Plan regular and frequent time to be in the temple together. Talk about how to live the first great commandment together.
- Find ways to serve together. Prayerful ask for daily opportunities to lift one another and share your experiences together. Open up your home to invite others to feel your love. Talk about how to live the second great commandment together (see Matthew 22:29).
- Discuss your finances and talk about how to avoid or become free of debt. Be united in all financial decisions and prayerfully plan for the future. Be united in a budget. Always pay the Lord first (tithing and offerings), pay yourselves (10% in savings), and then live on the rest. Live within your means and be willing to sacrifice short-term wants for greater future needs.
- Make each other a priority over other interests, hobbies, or distractions. Plan activities, trips, and experiences that keep your marriage alive, exciting, and fulfilling. Schedule weekly date nights, regular getaways, and ways to keep falling in love. Find ways to surprise your companion with thoughtful notes and acts of kindness.
- Always serve in the Lord’s kingdom. Find ways to lift those around you in your neighborhood, ward, and stake.
Reflections
- Why is time one of the hardest things to give?
- How is the law of tithing a law of the heart?
- What does “clean hands and a broken heart” mean to you?