Sacrifice

I was a judge at a speech competition this morning, in which one of the contestants spoke of service. He expounded on this theme by stating that part of service involves self-sacrifice. Indeed, personally tending to the sick and poor would be considered self-sacrifice, much more so than, say, a Hollywood celebrity donating money, though I don't mean to discount the value of money as an aid in times of need. Still, it struck me that this young man would have such wisdom as to recognize that some measure of self-sacrifice is almost a given when one renders a service to another, especially if that "another" is not deserving. One does not need to deserve a sacrifice or a service, because the service is offered as a gift; the sacrifice is an exercise of the giver, not the receiver. Whatever satisfaction may be garnered would inure to the giver.