Making Sacrifices

The discussion in Institute yesterday reminded me of a principle that I learned on my mission. When we do anything for God's sake, we should treat it as an offering to God, and and try to give Him the very best we can. The Institute class was about Cain and Abel yesterday, and we talked about the difference between offering the "firstlings of [your] flock and the fat thereof" (Gen. 4:4), and offering the "fruit of the ground," "in process of time" (Gen. 4:3). It's better to give God your best and do it early than to give Him only what's left over after your harvest.

My favorite reason for accepting this principle is, admittedly, a selfish one. God rewards His faithful followers. When we make a sacrifice for God, He repays us in proportion to the offering we made. The more we give Him, the more He gives us, and His blessings are always greater than our offerings. Thinking of it in a horrifically materialistic way, it's like we're not giving God anything at all, but rather loaning it to Him, and He pays generous interest when He pays us back. Plus, the only things we can "loan" to Him are things that He is already lending to us, so really, we're just giving back things that He has given us, and in return, He gives us even more.

To clarify, the Lord's blessings are not usually material. Most often, they're much better. God has the power to give us things that no amount of money can by, such as inner peace, true understanding of gospel principles, and a good standing with Him in the day of judgment. Sacrifices have to be made to obtain those things, but I consider it an investment - an incredibly profitable investment.

When I think about keeping the commandments and abandoning sin as a way of making an offering to God, it makes me want to give Him my best efforts, not only because I expect a high return on my investment, but because I already owe Him so much that He deserves my best. I struggle with everything from deep doctrine and apparent contradictions to even the most basic principles of faith, and God has stuck with me through all of it. That means a lot to me, and I should show how much it means to me by making generous offerings. He has asked me to sacrifice a few things that I sometimes find hard to let go of, but I really should let them go (no reference intended), if only to thank Him for His patience with me so far and to show some faith that what He's offering me is more desirable than what He's asking me to give up.

Over the last few days, I've established that I should trust God and keep His commandments, even though it requires faith. Now, I've added that trusting God and keeping His commandments often requires sacrifices as well. Or maybe making sacrifices is how we show that we have faith. Any way you look at it, for me to truly follow God will require that a few sacrifices be made. It's not going to be easy, but I should try to have faith that it'll be worth it. And I should also remember who it is that's asking this sacrifice of me, and how much I owe it to Him.