Sacrifice Merits Paradise

With the advent of modern technology, people tend to lose the virtue of sacrifice. Our generation can be described as an instant generation. Almost everything is in instant. Gone were the days where we have to gather firewood, and then burn them with match and dried coconut leaves. It was replaced by rice cooker and stoves. With just a click of the hand, everything will flow on smoothly. We also have instant coffee, instant noodles, etc. The list goes on. Moreover, we also cater to instant happiness which somehow explains the emergence of prostitution and pornography in this world. All these things happen because man in the first place yearns for pleasure and happiness. But man has failed to realize that happiness is not instant. It is a fruit of labor and sacrifice.
We might ask ourselves, “Why do we need to sacrifice when in fact we can get happiness in an instant?”
First, we have to consider the reality of pain and suffering in life. From the moment we are born, we already felt the pain as we see light for the first time. Evidence to which is the fact that we cry during birth. We felt very insecure to the new world that we are in. Thus pain, suffering, and sacrifice are part and parcel of living. We cannot do away with it. It is embedded in our nature as finite beings lacking the necessary perfections.
Second, we need to sacrifice something for a higher purpose. Had not our mother sacrifice her health and eventually her life, we would not be present in this world nowadays. It is a good thing that we give up something in order to have more in life. Let us not cater to things that could bring us happiness which are ephemeral and fleeting in nature.
The saints in our Catholic Church have a great deal of sacrifice done for the Church. They shed their blood for a higher purpose. The best epitome of sacrifice is the sacrifice of our Lord on the cross. Blameless as he is, he shed his blood for us so that we may have eternal life in the life to come. Somehow Ninoy Aquino has a point when he said: “There comes a time in a man’s life when he must prefer a meaningful death than a meaningless life.”
We should live a meaningful life by sacrificing our evil desires for the good of the many. We got a lot of things we owe from God and it is a symbol of gratitude to render some sacrifice of our life for others for all the good fortune God has given us. We live life not in years but in how many lives that we touched.