Sacrifices - Paula

347–404

Married young to a wealthy man, Paula enjoyed what her husband’s money could provide. She dressed in silk, adorned herself in gold, and was carried from place to place by servants. But when Paula became a Christian, she gave up all the luxuries.

Paula was a widow in her early thirties when she converted. In the following years she used her inherited wealth for the church’s needs. But her sacrifice did not end with giving away her wealth—she also turned to a life of deprivation.

She ate only bread and oil and drank only water. It’s said she rarely bathed or slept. Eventually she dedicated her life to financially supporting and serving Jerome, a Bible scholar working on a Latin translation of the Bible. To help him, she left her home and her young children.

This raises some challenging questions for us. Was Paula’s life of self-imposed deprivation necessary to serve God? Paula must have thought so, and maybe that’s how God was leading her, but does he want that for all of us? Most of us would understand giving money to help a ministry, even in substantial amounts, especially if we were left (as Paula was) with a sizable inheritance. But the rest of it, particularly leaving her children, seems a little crazy. Yet Jerome’s translation of the Bible was so important, and Paula’s support so integral to its completion, that calling her sacrifices crazy might be too harsh.

Sacrifice is an uncomfortable word. God asks all of us to make sacrifices, to give up some of our comforts for him. He might even ask us to do something that seems a little crazy. So the challenge remains: What sort of sacrifice is God calling you to make? Money? Time? Relationships?

You may never know the lasting effects of those sacrifices. Over the ages, the Bible has been carefully translated and passed down through the efforts of many faithful people, and Paula was one of them. Like her, you have no idea what the results of your sacrifice might be, but you know God does.

Don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.

Hebrews 13:16