“But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.  For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,  who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”   1 Peter 2:20-25

This past weekend I served at a Christian event.  I knew that I would need to give up some of the normal comforts of life, that I would need to push my body beyond what I would consider a wise pace for my health concerns and  that my diet would also be compromised.  However, I was not prepared for what I would consider unnecessary risks for myself and others due to disregard and lack of effort.  I’m not talking about malicious acts by evil people, but rather inadvertent decisions and actions by genuine godly people whom I have come to appreciate over the last few days.  The perceived lack of safety put me in a mode of questioning my decision to serve, counting down the hours until I could leave and started a running discussion in my head regarding what is “reasonable sacrifice”.  Thankfully, God quickly took me to the example of Christ which caused my issues to pale in comparison and allowed me to serve to the best of my ability and develop new friendships.

With respect to sacrifice, consider the following elements: preparation, opportunity, people, sacrifice, and reward.