Sacrificial Giving Part 2: The sacred Cost of Giving
As a Boy Scout, I took great pride in my uniform. My grandmother bought it for me when my parents were too poor to afford one, and I cherished every stitch of it. I felt special. I didn’t have much in the way of material possessions, we were just too poor. Most of the other scouts had full uniforms. I often felt separate and different because of our poverty. The uniform changed that, because it made me equal to the others. I had it all—the shirt with all my badges sewn on, pants, belt, socks, hat, sash covered in merit badges, my neckerchief, and the neckerchief slide. It was the finest and most dear thing I owned.
At summer camp, we were required to wear our uniforms to dinner. One evening as I got ready, I realized my neckerchief slide was missing. I was devastated and ashamed for losing something so important to me, and humiliated because I couldn’t afford a new one. With tears in my eyes, I retraced my steps from that day, searching everywhere even in places I hadn’t been. Not finding it, I went from scout to scout, asking each one if they had seen it. Others joined my frantic search, but to my despair, it never turned up. In the end, I tied my neckerchief in a simple knot.
Then something unexpected happened. Quietly, without my knowledge, my fellow scouts pooled the little money they had and bought me a new slide at the camp store. I didn’t ask for it, nor did I expect it. They saw my pain and sacrificed both time and money to restore me. The gratitude I felt has never left me. I still remember it as one of the best gifts I have ever received.
Sacred Giving
Some gifts are pleasant; others are holy. The difference is sacrifice. Sacrifice isn’t only about money—it is anything of value we must willingly surrender. Money and time are both scarce resources, but time is the scarcer of the two, because money can be earned again. Time cannot be renewed or reclaimed once it is spent. That simple truth sits at the heart of sacrificial giving.
King David talked about this when he said, “I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24, NKJV). Worship without cost slips into routine. Giving without cost becomes mere sentiment. Israel was commanded to set apart the firstborn that comes from an animal (Exodus 13:12), the best (Numbers 18:12–13), without blemish (Leviticus 1:3)—the most valuable of what they possessed. True sacrifice always carries weight.
Money: A Sacrifice That Must Be Wise
The Bible never condemns material generosity; it celebrates it. But financial giving ceases to be holy the moment it becomes carnal, driven by pride, guilt, comparison, or the desire to impress. Proverbs warns us that “the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7, NKJV), reminding us that debt brings bondage, not blessing.
I have seen families go all out on gifts at Christmas with sincere intentions, believing it to be a noble sacrifice. Yet they do so by going into debt. They swipe credit cards to create a “beautiful Christmas,” only to spend months—or years—paying for it. At first glance, it may look generous. But the consequences are rarely a blessing: longer work hours, financial strain, stress, and less time with the very family they hoped to honor. Jesus urges us to count the cost of every endeavor: “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost…?” (Luke 14:28, NKJV).
Real financial sacrifice is something different. It is giving out of what you have, not out of what you hope to have someday. It is choosing thoughtful, meaningful gifts over extravagant and reckless ones. Biblical sacrifice always involves wisdom and biblical stewardship.
Time: The Most Precious Gift We Can Give
If money represents one kind of sacrifice, then time represents something deeper. Time is the one resource we can never purchase, replace, or replenish. When we give someone our time, we give a part of our life that we will never get back. Scripture tells us to “walk circumspectly… redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15–16, NKJV). Time matters because it is life itself.
A true time-sacrifice might mean sitting with someone even when your schedule is full. It might mean slowing down long enough to choose a gift that truly speaks to the heart. And sometimes the most meaningful gift isn’t material at all—it is the attention you give, the love you express, or the letter you take the time to write.
John wrote, “Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18, NKJV). Time spent in sincere, intentional love often exceeds the value of anything wrapped in paper.
The Purity of Motives in Sacrifice
The Bible says, “Do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Hebrews 13:16, NKJV). God is not pleased because He needs anything from us, but because genuine sacrifice purifies our motives. Jesus cautions us, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them” (Matthew 6:1, NKJV). That means we must never give to show off, impress, or elevate ourselves.
Carnal sacrifice appears generous but weakens the soul. It gives to gain admiration. It spends to be noticed. It performs good deeds to build an image. Good intentions may be present, but the motive is off. True biblical sacrifice does the opposite; it strengthens, restores, and blesses. It is quiet, sincere, and wise.
And giving because we feel pressured or afraid of appearing ungrateful is another subtle form of carnal sacrifice. It may look like love, but it lacks the heart of it.
The Gifts That Take Time
Some of the most valuable sacrifices require patience, humility, and deliberate care. Proverbs says, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11, NKJV). Carefully chosen words, spoken in person or one the phone, written or videoed are treasures of their own.
Scripture calls us to be intentional with one another: “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24, NKJV). Time-gifts such as listening, encouraging, sharing a moment, or writing a heartfelt note often carry far more weight than anything bought in a store. They come from the heart, not the hurry.
The Final Offering: Forgiveness
Forgiveness may be the hardest sacrifice of all because it costs us something internal—our pride, our sense of fairness, our desire to hold onto old wounds. Yet Scripture is unequivocal: “Forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32, NKJV). Paul echoes the command again: “…even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do” (Colossians 3:13, NKJV).
Forgiveness is sacrificial love at its purest. It reflects Jesus. It frees hearts. It restores relationships. And it may be the greatest gift you give this Christmas.
