Pleasing God With Sacrifice

Hebrews 13:16

But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

There is an old adage that says, "If momma ain't happy, no one is happy." They also say that a marriage consists of making compromises. That may be true in one sense - perhaps in a worldly sense. But marriages under the auspices of the Lord God, are united in the Spirit of God, and we who are married, are called to a life of sacrifice.

I have been married to my wife for nearly 46 years now, and have learned how to sacrifice for her. It wasn't easy, and it's still not easy. Especially when there is something else I'd rather do for me. Me, myself and I often times get in the way of wanting or desiring to serve one another before self.

The more I want, the less I am willing to sacrifice - even at the expense of pleasing my wife - or worse - pleasing God. Our first priority is to please God. If we learn to do that, we can learn how to do good to others by living a sacrificial life.

Paul says in Philippians 2:3 "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."

After all these years, and while I am still learning to put my wife's needs before my own, I have discovered how well it pleases her when I sacrifice for her. I also know that in that moment of sacrifice, I please God too!

In a world that says you are "Number one!" and "do whatever makes you feel good" is a recipe for disaster - especially in a marital union. Living that way will not make "momma happy" - and even more so - it won't please God at all.

Remember, God so loved you and me, that He sacrificed everything by giving up His only Son, so you and I can be saved from the very thing (sin) that keeps us eternally separated from Him, and live a life full of joy and gratitude!

You want to please God? Start living beyond your own selfish desires and develop a sacrificial kind of love for others, just like the way Jesus loves you!

In the love of our Lord, Jesus Christ,

Tom