Unselfish

Last Sunday, I heard testimonies of what one family had to give up for the sake of the father’s work as a preacher. Today, I read a work of fiction about a woman who gave up the man she loves for the sake of doing something for the greater good. There are things bigger than ourselves and sometimes sacrifices, difficult and heart breaking ones at that, have to be made.

Every day you hear stories of mothers who give up lucrative careers to personally care for their children. Soldiers who go overseas to fight wars they didn’t start, leave their wives, sons, and daughters, not knowing whether they’ll see them again. Single men and women who go as missionaries to remote places, give up their comfort zones, and the possibility of marriage to someone they love and start a family. 

These altruistic souls understand that we were made for so much more than our first world problems. I took stock of my life thus far and a lot of the unselfish things I’ve done had underlying self-serving motives. In the context of what they had to turn their backs on, none of the things I had to give up were sacrifices at all. 

I think of the wife of that preacher who had to raise 4 daughters by herself because more than half the time, her husband was away to speak to multitudes from all over the world. I still can’t wrap my mind around how she coped with the loneliness of missing him. And I’m sure he felt the pain too. Personally, I don’t know if I will be brave or strong enough to walk in their shoes. But then again, God has a way of sustaining those He calls. 

And what of that fictional character who gave up the man she loves to do law enforcement work that only an elite few are skilled to do, a work that could save the lives of many. She may not be real, but her story is. A lot of undercover agents in the police force have given up committed relationships because they fear the danger that would befall the ones they love. But then again, if I get to be 007 and do neck-breaking chases on motorbikes or jet skis all over the world to bring dangerous criminals to justice, I guess love would have to wait.

Leaving