Intro
I love the company Nintendo. To me they are the best when it comes to making video games. Even if you disagree with that statement you have to admit that they have made some amazing games through the years. One of the people that I have a lot of respect for is the former CEO Satoru Iwata. I say former because he is no longer with us. However while he was still here back in 2014 he did something amazing. Back then Nintendo was struggling with sales. The Wii U was out at that time and the company wasn’t looking to good. It looked like they were going to have to lay off a good chunk of their staff but Iwata wasn’t going to stand for that. He took it upon himself to take a 50% pay cut in order to save employees from being laid off. What his sacrifice did was that it drove employee morale up and the employees respect for him went up to an all time high. While his sacrifice hurt it was one of the best things that could have happened to the company.
We are all scared to death of the pain that comes with making a sacrifice, which is why we are always hesitant to do it. If we could see the end result we might be more willing to make more and more sacrifices but none of us have that ability. Despite that though, we must become more willing to make sacrifices for the sake of God and for the sake of others. The benefits of everyone doing this would be astronomical in the long run.
Now for those of you who are still unwilling to sacrifice then I’m afraid to say that you will have to pay the price. Let’s take another look at Iwata. Imagine if instead of him making that sacrifice they just laid off a bunch of employees, what do you think would have happened? Employee morale would be at an all time low and their respect for their CEO would plummet. So my point here is that even if you are still unwilling to make a sacrifice you are still going to have to lose something. So wouldn’t it make more sense to willing give something up for someone else vs. just losing something? When you sit and think about it there is no need to be afraid of a sacrifice.
1)Offering Donated
Now there is one big thing that really stood out in this passage, to me at least. Did you see how Gideon questioned God? He was bold with it and he didn’t hold back what he had to say. He had obviously been thinking about this before so he just told God exactly what was on his mind. It is okay to question God! I know that mind seem like a contradiction to what you have been told before but it really is okay to question God, you just need to be willing to listen to His response. God’s response to Gideon just shows how wise our God really is. Gideon unleashed all his complaints about how God hasn’t done anything for them and then God just says, “Am I not sending you?”
You can gladly bring your questions before God but it is what you do after you question God that matters. Did you see what Gideon did after his conversation with God? He went and sacrificed to God and not just any old sacrifice either. He sacrificed a young goat during a time in which Israel’s enemies are attacking their food supplies. Gideon truly made a sacrifice for God that day. He gave out of his first fruits just to honor God. So after you question God about whatever it may be that He is doing in your life what do you do after that? Are you still willing to sacrifice for Him in the face of your fears?
2)Offering Devoured
Did you notice how Gideon’s sacrifice was completely devoured? I find this to be very significant because this was not an Abraham story. In the story of Abraham God intervened and provided a different sacrifice instead of Abraham’s son Isaac. Here in Gideon’s story no such thing happened. Now I know that Gideon’s offering was only a goat while in Abraham’s case it was his son but the point that I am trying to make is that Gideon’s sacrifice was completely consumed never to be returned. Gideon sacrificed food in a time where food was being attacked and he didn’t even get to taste the goat.
Now what is the point in all of this? I think the point is screaming loud and clear, God is more important than the thing that you are sacrificing! Gideon saw that to be true which is why he was willing to give that goat up in such trying times. It is not until you start to see God as the most important thing in your life that you will become willing to sacrifice anything for Him.
Conclusion
Let’s bring this home shall we. What is it for you that God has been calling you to sacrifice for His sake that you just can’t seem to do? Maybe you just haven’t been willing to do so because you have a lot of questions and frustrations built up. Let those questions out to God. Pour out your frustrations to Him and listen for the response. There is no need to be afraid. Whatever it is that He has called you to sacrifice it is not beyond your means. It might have seemed so for Gideon but in the end it wound up benefiting him.
Application
As far as what you need to sacrifice for God it varies from person to person but it can be boiled down to one statement no matter who you are. What is it that you value more than God? Whatever your answer to that question is that is what God is most likely looking for you to give up for Him. Now I’m not telling you to go give away your car for God but instead of valuing it above God how can you use it for Him?
Life is full of sacrifices and there can be some really scary ones that come our way from time to time, no one is denying that. However if you value God above whatever it is that you need to sacrifice then the fear will just melt away. Also you never know just how much of an impact your sacrifice will have on others. Just look at what happened with Nintendo after Iwata made that sacrifice. As it stands now Nintendo is at an all time high in regards to sales. Even though Iwata isn’t here to see it Nintendo got there thanks to his sacrifice.
