SELF SACRIFICE OF AN ATHEIST

 

The concept of self-sacrifice for the benefit of others makes no logical sense.  Why would anyone diminish the value of their only life to give up something without receiving an equal or greater thing in exchange?

Many people who self-sacrifice receive something greater even though it isn't material, self-satisfaction, and pride. They may find a sense of purpose in a world that seems without it. That payback for some is enough to fuel a lifetime of self-sacrifice. They are receiving something more important to them than money or comfort. They can look at their life and feel they have done and are doing well., especially compared to common people.

This is not what God calls Christians to do. These verses explain it well. 

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

I Jn 4:10-12  

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 

Matt 25:40

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.  

Eph 2:8-9

 One who is following Jesus, has a good attitude, lives ethically, and is self-sacrificial in response to the God who loves them. If done for any other reason, (works) pride is involved and this conflicts with the foundations of Christianity, being saved (there's no pride in being saved) and then walking humbly with God and others.

For those who don't believe that Jesus died for their sins: If the Christian God is real, then those Christians who love others to show love for God have done well. If Jesus is a fictional character, then those Christians have lived their only life on this earth at a higher ethical standard than their self-sacrificing non-Christian counterparts, receiving no self-acclamation, no pride, but having sacrificed for a higher purpose.