“No man has greater love than this; that a man lay down his
life for his friends.”
We do not erect statues of men who have done nothing outside
of monotony with their life. They are always tall bronze towers of figures
whose reflection show an image of a person whose life was full of sacrifice –
probably even dying for someone else. We won’t even give a trophy to someone
who hasn’t put in at least some work.
“Here is your trophy for eating the most amount of chips
while taking the least amount of breaths.”
“Whoa, this exists, and I won it?”
“No, go do something with your life.”
As a culture we suffer from a phobia of sacrifice, and it
has nothing to do with dying. According to the Federal Reserve Statistic, the
average household debt in 2014 is $15,607. At first glance this statistic doesn’t
look like it has anything to do with sacrifice, but then we realize that
staying out of debt means sacrificing time. If time is money, than the more
time we spend saving our money the less debt we’d have. It’s a matter of
sacrifice. Nobody can argue that it’s easier to buy a car with cash than it is
to buy one on credit. If that were true than we wouldn’t have corny commercials
telling us that our credit is “pre-approved.” The easy rode is the one paved by
someone else’s sacrifices.
According to the Journal
of American Medicine 34.9% of Americans are obese. Losing weight is a matter of
sacrificing instant gratification for lifelong health. But who has time for
that when 5 bucks can buy you a carb-loaded footlong. 68.8% of Americans are at
least overweight. This suggest that the majority of Americans choose sweets
over sweats. Rather than do what works, like eating less junk and healthier
foods, we have created a market of lose weight fast gimmicks. Everything from
invasive surgery to over-caffeinated diet pills are forced in the face of would
be dieters. Be honest, would you rather sweat for two hours in the blazing sun,
or sit back with a sweet drink in one hand, a juicy burger in the other, and
your favorite show on TV? That’s what I thought. The reward of salivary
satisfaction has overcome the glory of sweat and health.
Heard enough?
Good. Anyone who was convicted of an inability to sacrifice
has already quit reading. YOU, the person still scanning over these words, are not one of those people. The average household debt and obesity rates both correlate into an obvious conclusion - people fear sacrifice. You find time to get on the internet and read blogs
about health, fitness, and bettering yourself. Your interests span into the
world of sacrificing. You give up instant gratification for long term success. Most importantly you know not to give into the weight of the world, because it's selfish.
And selfish people don’t get their statues put up in parks.
Be a statue.
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