Sacrifice

Psalm 51:17 NIV “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”

Sacrifice is one of those church words that has made its way into our everyday lexicon. You hear stories of athletes who sacrifice everything to train for their sport (especially, as I write this, for the Olympics have been on), tales of individuals who make sacrifices to provide for their family, or the ‘ultimate sacrifice,’ which is a phrase associated with losing one’s life for a cause or a country.

All these have certain elements in common – they refer to the loss of something important in exchange for an alternate thing of value. Biblically, this is true as well. Ancient Jews offered sacrifices of slaughtered (unblemished) animals in exchange for atonement (forgiveness of sin).

What struck me about this verse was how different David’s sacrifice is from the expectations of what a sacrifice is, both in religious and secular understanding.

This Psalm was written after David committed adultery, and then, in an effort to conceal his affair, he actually kills his lover’s husband. The most natural thing we would expect in this situation is that David would offer animal sacrifices to atone for his wrongdoing. Yet, that is not what God wants.

I wonder how many times we miss what God really wants. We feel guilty and try to atone for it by going to church more or working harder at “good” things. Maybe we focus on our behavior, and our “sacrifice” becomes being nice, having patience, and being honest.

While those aren’t bad things to do, they don’t actually lead to freedom from guilt. Behaving well, giving money to worthy endeavors, reading the Bible, and attending church aren’t what God requires of us. He doesn’t want the perfect version of ourselves, all tidied up and without fault. Look instead at what David gives and what the Lord desires:

A Broken Sprit. The Hebrew word for broken is ‘break, tear, or burst into pieces.’ Our Spirit (Hebrew ruach) is our breath and is life itself. The second phrase, ‘a broken and contrite heart,’ adds the concept of a crushed, collapsed heart (or inner self).

This sacrifice is an offering of ourselves at our worst, not our best. All the brokenness and crushed parts of us are what God wants. Why? Because that’s when the transformation and miracles happen. “For my power is made perfect in weakness” 2 Cor. 12:9

A final medition on the art piece, try to name what comes to mind if you think about holding your hands out and offering some part of you to God.