The word sacrifice comes from the Latin word “sacrificium.” It combines the words sacer, which means something set apart, and facere, which means to make.

Making sacrifices is a charitable act which anyone who loves himself/ herself, her neighbour and God should do.  Even though the thought of making sacrifices can sometimes be scary, many a time it could be selfish when people want to get something out of it or use it to reach important goals. However, it’s unlikely that one will achieve anything significant without making sacrifices and that is why highly successful people understand and apply this concept to become better achievers.

Today, the word sacrifice is used when referring to giving up something in the short term to gain something better in the long term or giving up something of a lower value to receive something of a higher value. Be that as it may, the sacrifices that people make reveal their commitment to the result they want.

Romans 23: 5 says,” God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished”. As we understood in the bible, Christ sacrificed Himself on the cross for a sin He did not commit just to save the world from the original sin committed by our first parents, Adam and Eve. This sacrifice was done without expecting anything in return personally but just to carry out the wish of His father, God. Point 509 of the Way written by JoseMaria Escriva, stated that Mary is the teacher of the sacrifice that is hidden and silent! She sacrificed so much for her son and remained in the background and never complained.

Making sacrifices is when you give up something for someone, when one sacrifices for the family. This could be very challenging particularly, when one does things that one never imagined of doing before, things that may be uncomfortable or unfamiliar to you but sometimes sacrifice can be the unexpected answer to family challenge.”  Often times new couples find themselves in this situation usually at the early stage of marriage. There is usually the case of sacrificing something to have peace and harmony in the house.   I always advise newlyweds to be ready to make sacrifices at the early stage of their marriage, say between six months and one year.

 Considering the fact that these are two people coming from different backgrounds and with different formation. There could be the issue of one partner moving from one location to another to join the spouse, or a simple issue as one partner not been able to sleep with lights on or off. Or even the church to attend as a family in the case where they both worshipped at different parishes before marriage. Or issues such as what side of the bed to sleep. Without making sacrifices, their differences may seem to be irreconcilable but by focusing on sacrificing for each other, the couple will gain the courage to move forward in their relationship and they will learn that mutual love grows as they serve and sacrifice for each other.

Making sacrifices is a good thing if it is made willingly and not for a selfish interest but for the sake of promoting the well-being of a partner, family member or to sustain a relationship. Just as a mother sacrifices her sleep in other to feed her new born baby in the middle of the night.  It is pertinent to know that we need to make a lot of sacrifices to keep our lives going and I believe that what we really need is to always remind ourselves of the truth that was spoken by Jesus as stated in Mathew 10: 39, “He that finds his life shall lose it and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it” and also as Henry Ward Beecher said,” In this world, it is not what we take up but what we give up that makes us rich”

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Beatrice Egbuna is an experienced Broadcast Technologist with a strong background in managing broadcast equipment and sound technology. She has played a leading role in building and installing various radio studios, as well as maintaining and repairing both analogue and digital equipment at Voice of Nigeria (VON) studios. Egbuna holds a degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the Lagos State University (LASU), and has received training in Audio Engineering from the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. She also holds certificates in Senior Management Programmes from the Lagos Business School (LBS) and the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), as well as a certificate in Entrepreneurial Management from the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the Pan-Atlantic University (PAU). Prior to joining EDC in 2011, Beatrice worked in various capacities at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and VON before retiring in 2010 as Deputy Director Programming. She has also worked as a Consultant/Mentor on projects like "Road-to-Growth" powered by Cherie Blair Foundation and Access Bank Plc. Egbuna produced and presented "Enterprise Stories", a live radio program on Inspiration 92.3 FM, which brings entrepreneurs together every Tuesday at 3 pm to share their success stories and inspire startup developers to follow their dreams. She also produced "The Economy and You," a program that aired for about four years on Rhythm 93.7 FM, which brought policymakers, technocrats and successful business executives to discuss government policies and their impact on the economy and businesses in Nigeria. Currently, Beatrice Egbuna is the Principal Consultant at Maluwe Capacity Builders International, Nigeria, where she provides real-time feedback and actionable advice that adds value to her clients. She is also a mentor and faculty member at the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan-Atlantic University, and a BDSP Consultant on the 5-year (20??-20??) MASTERCARD TRANSFORMING NIGERIA YOUTH PROJECT (TNY). Egbuna is passionate about developing the entrepreneurship ecosystem, providing business support and advisory services to entrepreneurs within and outside the EDC business network for over a decade. She is a certified IFC/LPI Trainer, certified SMEDAN Business Development Service Provider (BDSP), life coach, work-life balance advocate/coordinator, and marriage counsellor who helps employees/career/business people find fulfilment in the workplace, balance in their daily activities, and solutions to their marital challenges. To reach Beatrice Egbuna she can be contacted through her email addresses: bettyegbuna@yahoo.com and maluwehelp@gmail.com. She also has a website, https://momentwithbetty.com.

2 Comments

  • Matthew Ngwu, September 28, 2022 @ 2:18 pm Reply

    Great article. For sacrifice to be effective, your words must match your actions and your actions match your words. We must have the courage to speak the truth and our heart burn with love, and the love must be matched by a life of sacrifice for others.

  • Charly Brown, October 6, 2022 @ 1:29 pm Reply

    Interesting and helpful advice.

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