Sacrificing for a cause

In Religion and throughout history people have sacrificed themselves for some great cause. I do not mean in death only, I am talking about any type of sacrifice for a worthy cause. I do NOT condone Religious violence or any other act that causes harm to others. That is not what sacrificing is or what it is meant to be. 

A real sacrifice is made so that either yourself or others can have and know peace. Giving up some part or all of yourself to help another, that is probably the greatest thing many of us will ever be able to, or even hope to achieve. I mean that it should be one of our main focuses.

Paul the Apostle made many sacrifices as he went about serving Christ through his service of others. So have Joseph Smith and others. Joseph Smith was said to have gone willingly to his death. I think he knew the outcome was not going to be in his favor. But he went anyway.

I am not sure if in my life I could be unselfish enough to really sacrifice things that I want or need in order to give them to another. I do try and help people when I see that they need it or they ask for it, I do try to give people help. But not on the level of Paul, Joseph or Jesus Christ.

I do not think I have to though, and that is actually the hard part. Going all out and giving it all up at once can be done quickly in some cases, but giving each day and slowly trying to become better, can take a lifetime. I think it is harder to live each day trying to sacrifice the things that keep you down and keep you from being who you are and should be, than it would be to just walk away clean.

The real sacrifice, not to diminish Jesus's or Joseph's but, even they told us that the real sacrifice comes from daily service to God. And we do that by serving others. That is a real challenge, one that I think is definitely worthy to pursue as a cause.

Paul and what he means to me.

Paul was a man who hated the Christians. He was also an Apostle of Christ. He lived a long time ago and yet he is still mentioned and talked about. But I do not really care about that. What I think about when I think about Paul is everything he gave up. In that time and in that place, it does not make sense that he would choose to follow Christ.

In this day and age is not popular to follow Christ as much as it was. Religion in general is in decline and no belief or belief in science is replacing it. None of that matters to me either.

The question that I have is what makes people who seemingly have it all, give it up for their beliefs or religion.

When living life is difficult enough as it is, why would someone like Paul for example, give up his life and serve a "man" who was already dead? An Angel told him to. If you believe that. If you do not believe it then you still have to account for his actions. Anyone could see that it was a bold or idiotic move for him. He was a killer of Christians, he knew what it might eventually lead to, his decision to join them.

I respect that. I respect people who willingly sacrifice for their beliefs. In this day and age I am not sure how common that is. In LDS culture we are taught to follow God and Jesus Christ. Believing that in time we may gain Eternal life and live with them in Heaven. We are a unique and often times misunderstood group of people. But I believe that one thing people who sacrifice have in common is hope. I believe they hope for better things, either for themselves or for others. Hope is an essential part of our religion.

So, if Paul could do it, and did. Why can't you or I? It is a question worth answering. So try it in the comments.