This weekend we were honored to present the "arras", the coins representing wealth in a marriage ceremony. I hand the chest of coins to the husband, who then hands them to the wife. It is a showing that marriage is sharing our gifts with each other. It is what the essence of a marriage is defined and dependent on: giving of ourselves and our gifts and wealth to another. We cannot be assured that the gift will be returned. We can only give in faith and love because that is what we believe.
In organizational leadership, it is good practice to show sacrifice to the organization. Whether it be time or money, the important point is that we set the example of giving to others in order for the expectation to be followed throughout the rest of the organization. People want to believe that they are living and working for something good, something worthwhile. Giving is a noble act and creates a positive emotion in the organization that the group that they are working with is good.
Jesus spoke of his sacrifice, of how it was necessary for the holy spirit to come and help the church to succeed. That model of sacrifice was repeated over and over throughout the establishment of the church. The more the enemies of the church tried to kill the church, the more the church grew due to the willing sacrifice of those followers. Now even the military speaks in terms of shaping hearts and minds rather than body count because they have learned the futility of stopping a movement through the physical death of any number of followers.
Another interesting thing to know about sacrifice is that it is enjoyable. Though we believe that the truth "It is better to give than to receive." is only on a spiritual level, psychology has done experiments on giving and have found that spending on others gives us a more positive feeling for a longer period of time than spending on ourselves. According to the article, it has to do with reinforcing our self-image as a giving person.
As a leader, how do you sacrifice to others? What are some ways you can make sacrifice and giving to others a part of your organization's culture? Do you enjoy giving? What are new ways that you can give that you are not doing currently? What kind of giving will have the biggest impact on the people you serve?
