What Do You Sacrifice for Success?

Sacrifice is a part of the Christian faith, and it’s no secret, that success requires some kind of sacrifice. As Jesus approached the peak of His ministry, He spoke not of success, but of sacrifice. However, in today's society many people feel that success is the most important thing in the world and we need to be willing to sacrifice in order to achieve.

Today, many people sacrifice many things such as their family, health, interests, relationships, and integrity all for the sake of success. Let me also say, success is different for everyone and its an interchangeable term dependent on who is defining it. But considering what you sacrifice for success, my question is, “Is it all really worth it?” 

In one of my favorite movies, "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?" you have a couple, Terry and Diane, who are at odds because Terry's  successful lawyer wife is too busy to devote any time to him and she is hardly involved with their daughter. She sacrifices time with Terry and their child to concentrate on work. 

What do you sacrifice for success? Is it all really worth it?

Before I move on, let me say this, I do believe that sacrifices has to be made. After all, sacrifice is a part of God’s will for both men and women. As a mother, I am constantly making sacrifices for my daughter all out of love. Even before becoming a mother, I made sacrifices to get that amazing title. I sacrificed my body, my emotions, and my health. Also - to be perfectly honest, I have also passed up and ignored opportunities for my daughter because she is more important to me than achieving success.

In the Bible, as the book of Hebrews shows us, Moses sacrificed his position as a prince of Egypt and all the pleasures and riches that came with that position to follow God’s will for his life.

“24  By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26  Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward..” Hebrews 11:24-26 (KJV)

I greatly admire the decision of Moses who sacrificed Egypt. Think about it, how hard is it to make a decision for the Lord when surrounded in wealth, popularity, position, and power. Don't get me wrong, I admire those for sacrificing themselves to provide for their family. But I also feel extremely sad about it because the more I learned of them and their sacrifices, I found that they sacrificed others for their own success. They hardly know their children because they spent so much time working, or their spouse left them because they never spent time with them. I have learned to view success much differently over the past few years. Success does require sacrifice. Particularly, it requires sacrificing what IS NOT important for what IS. We must be as willing to say no to others for the sake of our family, as we are to say no to our family for the sake of others.

I pray that the Lord will bless you as you seek to prioritize your life according to His intentions.