FRUITS OF SACRIFICE

Giving back to Society

HOW does so miraculous a thing as a tree come into being? It is by a tiny seed giving itself up to the task, sacrificing itself so that a lush, verdant tree can grow out of the ground. And how is a house built? Ask the bricks from which it is built, and they will tell you that it is through some of them having buried themselves. That is how a construction comes to stand erect.

And that is the way man should construct his own life as well—through sacrifice. It is only if some of the individuals making up a society are ready to sacrifice their own futures that the future of humanity will take a constructive turn. And no community will prosper if a certain number of its members are not willing to accept adversity—even ruin— as their lot in life. Construction stands upon the bedrock of sacrifice. It is one of the immutable laws of nature. It applies in every walk of life. Every construction has a top, which we can all see. But we sometimes forget about the foundation, for it lies buried deep in the ground.

Yet, it is upon this invisible foundation that the whole building rests. There has to be this foundation and, in order to lay it, there have to be individuals who are prepared, figuratively speaking, to bury themselves in the ground. That is what sacrifice is!

An individual might, in a fit of emotion, give his very life for some cause, but that is not what sacrifice is all about. Real sacrifice means taking a part so small and so inconspicuous in constructive work that it is almost invisible, and this, no matter how prolonged the period or how far off ultimate success appears to be. It entails a struggle which offers neither fame nor wealth; it is to ‘bury’ oneself in order to build, to forge a future by giving up the present.

Once some people identify their devotion to a community, they go on to perform supreme acts of sacrifice to see their communities prosper, thrive and overcome obstacles. According to Paul C. Stern, “They develop loyalties strong enough to overcome or preempt considerations of personal well-being and competing loyalties to family, community, and other group.” (Why do People Sacrifice for Their Nations published in International Society of Political Psychology, 1995) The progress of the entire nation is dependent upon there being some elements of society who are ready to make such sacrifices. They are the seeds which, buried in the ground, give life to humanity; they are bricks on whose foundation humankind builds anew.