Sacrifice is Mercy

Last week 22-year-old Sarah came in with a multitude of problems. She has lots of pain, headaches every day, irregular menstrual periods which are also very painful. She also suffers from frequent fatigue -- her mom says she's just lazy, but she says she can't even get up sometimes because she feels so weak. We did some tests and found that she has Stein-Leventhal Syndrome, a hormone and metabolic problem. She cannot use fat for energy so she runs out of steam easily. Plus, she just holds on to fat so she cannot lose weight. The extra fat changes her hormone balance, and makes her hungry so she eats more and gains more weight -- a vicious cycle!

I told her that we had to take some extreme measures to correct her metabolism which would change her hormones, and that if she would do this, she would not only feel better, but she would be more likely to be able to have children when she was ready. I gave her a diet that was completely different from what she was eating.
She started to cry, "You've taken away everything I love!"
I replied, "This is how you got into this predicament in the first place, if you are going to reverse it, you must reverse your food choices."
"It's too hard!" she blurted out through her tears. "You ask too much!"
What could I do? Could I be "merciful" and allow her to continue to eat the things she loved? Would that help her? I knew that she could not be healed if she ate those things. My attempts to show "mercy" to her would only make her fatter, have more pain, and be more fatigued! I held the line -- "You must not make exceptions, but adhere strictly to the diet I have shown you."

In my work as a doctor, I often tell people what would be required for them to be healthy. I joke that for every new patient I would only have to ask, what is your favorite thing? If it's a food, wine, or tobacco, or soda or juice I would just say, "Give it up! -- NEXT!" and I would be doing more for them than all the drugs I could give them. I don't require this sacrifice for my benefit. I don't require it as penance for having been indulgent. Nor do I ask them to make such sacrifices to pay for the blessing of health. I'm really only telling them what it will take to change them so they can have a healthy body.

Sarah looked on me as an ogre requiring a huge sacrifice of her, but she eventually relented, promising to do it. Many others have gone away to find other doctors who would tell them what they wanted to hear: "You can eat what you want, live your own lifestyle as you choose and still be happy, content, pain-free, and full of energy! All you need to do is take this pill every day, get this shot, pay me money, or make some token change." Sarah will not be healthy unless she gives up her "normal" food. She can take all the pills she was offered by her other doctors, but that will not change her inside -- it will only change the outside. She will get temporary relief from the symptoms, sometimes, but her situation will be just the same. In fact, she will continue to get worse in spite of the medications.

Doctors can be like God, or Satan. God gives us commandments and requires sacrifices that are hard for us. But, does He need what we give up? I don't think so. I suspect the only reason for sacrifice is to allow us to change and overcome our weaknesses. On the other hand, Satan says to us as he tempted Eve, "You can have it all! Everything you want is before you! Go ahead, indulge yourself, you are a god, you can be both good and evil."

The sacrifices God wants us to make are for our benefit, not His. He knows what we need to learn and do in order to be able to receive a blessing or gift, and overcome a weakness. The Blessing is the commandment to make a sacrifice that changes us to be able to possess a gift from Heaven, just as I offered Sarah the blessing of health through her sacrifice. The changes she must make are terribly difficult, but not because she has to pay, nor do I want her to suffer the loss of all her favorite foods. I get nothing out of her sacrifice, except the satisfaction of seeing her improve.

Likewise, we don't have to pay for our sins, past, present or future. God doesn't need our pennies. God is not sadistically requiring the most painful sacrifice because it brings Him joy to watch us suffer. God's mercy is the sacrifice itself! All He asks of us is our willingness to make the sacrifices of the world so we can become more like Him. We are only required to do what it takes to be happy, have joy, peace, love, charity, hope, and faith. It's only for our benefit, so these things can be part of our lives.