Why Be Self-Sacrificing?

Bill is a family man in his 50's who is a teacher of building technology. Throughout the year, at his own expense, he spends many weeks helping to plan for and build Kingdom Halls for congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses. Emma is a  well-educated and well-qualified  single 22-year old.  Instead of pursuing purely personal goals and pleasures, spends over 70 hours each month as a minister, helping people to understand  the Bible. Maurice and Betty are retired. Rather than take things a bit easier now, they have moved to another country to assist people there to learn about God's purpose for the earth. 

THESE Individuals do not consider themselves to be special or extraordinary.  They are just normal people doing what they consider the right thing to do.  Why do they use their time, energy, abilities, and resources in the interests of others?  What motivates them is a deep love for God and their neighbor.  This love has generated in each one of them a genuine self-sacrificing spirit.

What do we mean by self-sacrificing spirit?  Well, to be self-sacrificing  does not require leading an austere  or ascetic life.  It need not involve extreme self-denial that robs us of joy or satisfaction. As The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary puts it, self-sacrificing simply means "the giving up of one's own interests, happiness, and desires for the sake of duty or the welfare of others.  

Next time: Jesus Christ-The Prime Example

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000