What is Sacrifice?

According to Merriam-Webster, sacrifice is “the act of giving up something that you want to keep, especially to get or do something else or to help someone.” The act of sacrifice is demonstrated in a few unique ways, depending on the person making the sacrifice.  However, regardless of the nature of the act, the principles of self-denial and personal hardship are common to each.

There is arguably no greater gift to a mother than the love of her child.  Encompassed within that love is a mother’s desire to see her child not only succeed but thrive.  There are also many stories of the personal sacrifices mothers make each day to make that desire a reality.  A young Korean boy shared his own mother’s selfless act with the internet community to showcase the great sacrifice that his mother made for him.  According to the story, throughout his childhood, this young man was embarrassed by his mother’s physical handicap, as she had only one eye (Jai, n.d.).  The embarrassment only deepened as he grew older, moved away from home and became a successful young man.  It continued to grow as he began to raise a family of his own.  Many years into his adulthood, out of a sense of obligation, this same man returned to his childhood home to visit his mother.  He discovered her dead on the floor, clutching a note that was addressed to him. In this note, the mother acknowledged that she was an embarrassment to her son.  She also explained to him for the first time that he had been in a childhood accident and lost one of his own eyes.  In a true sacrifice, she gave him one of her eyes and denied herself a normal life.  She also endured years of ridicule, even from her son.  Not only did this mother sacrifice her body for her son, but she also sacrificed the relationship between a mother and a child so that he would enjoy a normal life.

There are also other examples of sacrifice.  In professional baseball, athletes are evaluated, in large part, based on their batting averages. Individual players also take pride in earning home runs and scoring for their team.  However, some offensive players sacrifice their own goals for a greater good – a team win.  Instead of taking a full swing at a good pitch, players make something called a “sacrificial bunt” (Castrovince, 2013).  The batter is almost guaranteed an out, but this allows for other runners on base to advance (and hopefully score a run) (Castrovince, 2013).  According to baseball experts, this strategy is also designed to put pressure on the opposing team’s pitcher and defense, pushing them to make other mistakes (Castrovince, 2013). However, players are sometimes ridiculed for this practice, and there are differing schools of thought on whether a sacrificial bunt is even a smart thing to do.  Industry experts continue to debate the issue (Catrovince, 2013).  In the meantime, players deny themselves better batting averages and sacrifice their interests for the good of their team.

Lastly, some people chose to make what can easily be described as the ultimate sacrifice – they give up their own lives so that others may live.  Enlisted servicemen and servicewomen put themselves in harm’s way to protect our country and its citizens, such as those that fought at the Battle of the Alamo.  One example is found in Army Sargent First Class Bobby Estle, who was stationed in the Wardak Province of Afghanistan (McClelland, 2012).  According to published reports, Sgt. Estle was “shot in the stomach and killed on July 29 when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire” (McClelland, 2012).  Estle served four tours of duty during his 20-year military career and was scheduled to return home in three months (McClelland, 2012).  He is survived by his wife, three children, a brother and his parents (McClelland, 2012).  Sgt. Estle decided to deny himself time with his family, and a normal life state-side, to protect others.  In doing so, he made the supreme sacrifice and lost his life.

As shown in these examples, sacrifice simply means giving up something for someone else.  Whether it be an eye, a batting average, or even a life, people who sacrifice do so to help others.  They endure self-denial and personal hardship so that another person may prosper.

References

Castrovince, A. (2013, May 10). To sacrifice, or not to sacrifice, that is the question. MLB. Retrieved from http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130509&content_id=47102766&c_id=mlb 

Jai, X. (n.d.). Mother’s sacrifice. Moral Stories. Retrieved from http://www.moralstories.org/mothers-sacrifice/ 

McClelland, J. (2012, August 7). Fallen soldier "an example" of leadership, sacrifice. Dayton Daily News. Retrieved from http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/local/fallen-soldier-an-example-of-leadership-sacrifice/nQCtM/ 

Sacrifice. (2014). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sacrifice?show=0&t=1396367241