Romans 12:1-3 NIV
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Why should I not sacrifice?
In life you will definitely find out that there are truly some purposes in life for why you shouldn't do certain things. Well sacrificing comes with some of those same exact parameters placed around it. There are probably many reasons for why we shouldn't sacrifice but I believe this one reason will cover the bulk of all other reasons, because this is what normally leads up to the other reasons. Whatever you do don't find yourself sacrificing for the purpose or the mere fact of expecting something in return from people. Don't do it for public recognition, money or anything that you/others will put into your head to make you feel like you deserve something from other people. Please know that no one owes you anything for being obedient to Christ and you shouldn't allow others to make you feel like you're owed anything either. Understand that anything that you do for Christ, out of true obedience to him, He will bless you beyond what anyone on this earth ever could. If you're doing something and you're expecting something in return then that's called "work", therefore you should go and find a legal job, but sacrifice is about giving up something without expecting anything in return. If you get something for your sacrifice then great, but if you don't then don't be upset because only God can bless you like no one else can.
How long should I sacrifice?
You've probably asked this question many of times and if you haven't then I sure have. Well God gave me 1 answer, that is until He says that your time is done. Most times I had a very hard time trying to figure out what that answer meant because I thought that most situations were never ending, but I soon found out that all of them do have an ending point but you have to pay attention to when that ending point is. If you don't pay attention and listen then you could end up being there longer than what you were expected to be and find yourself frustrated in the midst of it. There are a couple of things that we must all know and do in order to find out when our sacrifice is truly over.
- The first thing we must know is the reason behind our sacrifice that God has called us to offer up. Most times we fall into this trap of doing things without ever knowing the reason behind why we are even doing it. I would go further to say that we sometimes think we are sacrificing when really God never asked us to do such a thing in the first place. God may of said to do this one time and we took it upon ourselves to make it continuously, because it seemed like the right thing to do. Anytime we have been called to sacrifice there is always a purpose behind it and God is not one who will lead us into the dark of a situation and not give us full instructions on what He wants us to do. Most times what happens is we don't pay full attention to the instructions and therefore things get twisted and way out of hand. Therefore if you don't understand fully then just take the time to ask God and I promise He will be more than happy to give you any direction that you are seeking. Also know that God is not like us, so He won't get mad if you ask him more than once because He really wants you to fully understand.
- Next we should truly evaluate what it is that we have been called to do and see how effective it is. In doing evaluations you shall find out how effective you have been in doing what it is that God has called you to do. It will also start to help you to see if you're becoming ineffective and what it is that needs to change, so that you can transition out of that situation or change the dynamics of what you're doing. Notice that I said transition out and not just step out of it altogether suddenly. God does all things decently and in order so just because you didn't come out when you were originally suppose to doesn't mean that He will allow you to just up and leave suddenly without giving you or those whom you are sacrificing for other directions in order to go forward.
- Lastly make sure you ask God, "Have I done what you said do and am I finished?" Now just because you get clear understanding from God of what you are to do and you have evaluated your efforts doesn't mean that your sacrificial task is completed. All those things may be in order and things may look like they are complete and working great, but honestly only God knows and has the final say. If you leave a situation to early then you can be punished as well, but it can also harm those others whom are also involved. Please make sure that before you consider your sacrificial assignment or task complete that you consult with the One who gave you the assignment in the first place. If God says it's complete then it's complete, but if He doesn't give you the okay then you might want to get back to the task that is at hand.
