Acts of Service and Loving Your Neighbor – Part 2

The idea of sacrifice to a Jew was something done out of abundance, a ritual done because of the love of G-d, not because they were afraid of Him.  But to the pagans who were without rain, or who were afraid of the volcano god, or hell, they were full of fear and lack.  They would take a “sinless” virgin, or a bunch of livestock, and throw them into the volcano (or kill them with a knife) to appease the gods’ anger and secure crops or blessings in return.  It was a fee to their gods, a payment of a debt, not an act of thankfulness based on the blessings already received. 



The Hebrew word Qorbonot is usually translated as offerings in Jewish translations, and sacrifices or offerings in Christian ones, but it comes from the root meaning “to draw near”, and this means that it is a relationship term that has the connotation of bringing us closer to G-d. 

I stated earlier that the word “sacrifice” implies a lack or debt, and is contrary to the infinite nature of the universe.  John C. Maxwell explains the abundance mindset vs. the lack mindset beautifully with his “pie” analogy.  He states, paraphrasing Stephen Covey’s book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”:

In a nutshell, people with a scarcity mind-set believe that in life, there’s only a limited supply of anything to go around, whether it’s money, resources, opportunity, and so forth.  They see the world as a pie with a limited number of slices.  Once they’re gone, they’re gone.  As a result, they fight to get their piece—and once they have it, they protect it. 

People possessing an abundance mind-set believe that there is plenty of everything to go around.  If life is a pie, and others are helping themselves to pieces, the solution of the person with the abundance mind-set is to bake another pie.  There is always more money to be made, more (or different) resources to be discovered, additional opportunities to be pursued.  An old solution isn’t working anymore?  Don’t worry:  someone will find a new one.  The inventors, entrepreneurs, and explorers of the world are continually creating new “pies” so that everyone can get a slice. 

…Someone once asked me why he should adopt an abundance mentality, and he was surprised by my answer.  I told him that if you believe in abundance, that’s what life gives you.  If you believe in scarcity, then that’s what you get.  I don’t know why that is, but after fifty years of paying attention to people’s attitudes and watching how life unfolded for them, I know it to be true.  (25 Ways to Win With People, John C. Maxwell, pp 141-143)

Ronda Byrne, the author of “The Secret”, has this to say about “sacrifice”:

“Many people have sacrificed themselves for others, thinking when they sacrifice themselves they are being a good person.  Wrong!  To sacrifice yourself can only come from thoughts of absolute lack, because it is saying, “There is not enough for everyone, so I will go without”.  Those feelings do not feel good and will eventually lead to resentment.  There is abundance for everybody and it is each person’s responsibility to summon their own desires.  You cannot summon for another person because you cannot think and feel for another.  Your job is You.  When you make feeling good a priority, that magnificent frequency will radiate and touch everyone close to you.”

Read Part 1, Part 3, and Part 4 here...