Obedience and Sacrifice

"Don't set yourself on fire trying to keep others warm." - Penny Reid

While I've seen this particular quote in a variety of forms, "you are not required to set yourself on fire"...etc..." you don't have to burn yourself"...etc, I think the meaning is consistent throughout--Sacrificing to one's detriment is not always the best option.

Sure, there are going to be times when giving of oneself because there is a need can be necessary. Or to give in support of the greater good is simply admirable. If we consider the context of giving and understand that this can be in the form of so many exchanges--time, resources, intellect; the list goes on and on. But what about those times when your contribution to the situation leaves you with a deficit that is damaging? A deficit that burns!!!

Going back to the quote by Penny Reid, if I'm honest with myself, I can admit that I've had times where I set myself on fire and other times when I was the one that was warmed. As I've gotten older I've purposely committed to being neither. It's easy for most of us to see one needing warmth and jump to their rescue, but all too often, before we realize it; we're ablaze. We move from being the helper to the one that needs help.

There's a reason that a portion of 1 Samuel 15:22 cautions us that it's better to obey rather than to sacrifice! While this scripture speaks directly to the occasion of Saul presenting a sacrifice to God in the aftermath of his disobedience, I'm inclined to just respect and honor the principle. This means you'll need to be mindful of whether you were meant to be part of the solution or the whole solution. It also means you have to make sure you're not killing yourself in an attempt to be helpful.

It then becomes important for us to ask the question, am I being obedient or am I being a martyr? This issue is one of my metaphorical mountains, and I have to examine my choices often. When dangerously sacrificing myself presents itself as the only option, I'm going to make sure that I'm being obedient to HIM!!