Do good and share

But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. – Hebrews 13:16

Most of the time a word like sacrifice is associated with spiritual sounding stuff. Please, don’t overreact, but when we think of sacrifice we think of the Old Testament, we think of Jesus on the cross, we think of giving, we think or praise, we think of thanksgiving, or any number of vitally important Bible truths. These truly are noble ideas and concepts of sacrifice.

But when we hear something like ‘do good’ or ‘share’ it sounds more like something we would tell our kids than spiritual instruction. Yet, here it is, right there in the Bible along with the sacrifice of praise.

What if I were to take those words of parental advice and picture them from my heavenly Father – ‘Roger, be good!’ ‘Roger, share!’ and saw these as Biblical sacrifice?

Do good. Share. It sounds pretty simple, but when we think about how important they are it really makes sense. Doing good means that I sacrifice my own selfish will and desires. It means I don’t always do what I want to do – it is a sacrifice. Sharing is obvious – it means I have to give up something of my own, be it stuff, money, time, or attention. It is obviously sacrifice.

Sometimes sacrifice is religious and spiritual and churchy. Sometimes it is very down to earth and practical. Both are vital. Both are real. And both are just as important.