Sacrifices

A sacrifice is "giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy." It is from the Latin root sacer, meaning holy. A sacrifice is is meant to be a holy act, a willingness to give up or set aside something as an act of devotion to God, to show Him that He is more important than whatever we are sacrificing.

I believe God honors sacrifices, even if what we are sacrificing isn't necessarily something He requires us to give up. For example, as a Latter-day Saint, I'm expected to sacrifice certain substances like coffee, tea, alcohol and tobacco. Do I think God will base my salvation on whether or not I abstain from these? No. But I do think that He honors the sacrifice, and He blesses my willingness to give up things that can harm my body or create physical (and even psychological) dependency. 

I think that we can sacrifice anything in the name of God (with honest, heartfelt intent) and God will honor it. I could give up all red foods, or wearing pants, or shopping on Sundays, or TV, or anything else with the intent of drawing closer to God, and God will bless me for it, even if that sacrifice makes no sense to anyone else, or in relation to scripture, tradition, or culture. What matters to Him is that we are willing to give up things for Him. He wants us to prove to Him that we will give up something of value to us for something far more important: Him. I truly believe that God wants us to learn to give up things that are "good" for things that are "better," or even things that are perfect. He wants us to grasp the idea that there is nothing we can give up on this earth that won't be worth what He gives us in return. In fact, I think we sell ourselves short when we consider sacrifices to be a loss of something, because God doesn't go into the negative with His blessings. 

So maybe I shouldn't say, "I don't drink coffee, tea, or alcohol because it's part of my religious belief." Maybe instead I should say, "I don't drink coffee, tea, or alcohol because God honors and blesses my sacrifice," because He has, and He will.