Father, help me to see how sacrificing my own comfort can be a way of loving others.

For the Good of Others You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. —2 CORINTHIANS 8:9 Born into a noble family, Domingo de Guzmán (1170-1221), founder of the Dominicans, was known for self-sacrifice and caring for others. As a teenager, Domingo was an excellent scholar, and his books were prized possessions. Even so, he had a greater love: caring for the needy. Domingo believed that others would know love "by an example of humility and other virtues far more readily than by any external display or verbal battles." So the priest from a prestigious family chose to live the life of poverty. He began by traveling barefoot and refusing to sleep on a bed in favor of the ground. He accepted discomfort as an opportunity to praise God. Domingo sacrificed material treasures because he knew human lives were worth more than his possessions. He sacrificed status because he knew showing love to others was more important than being applauded. Humility allowed him to see a greater good and act on it. Setting an example of humility is a way of loving others. Being humble might mean sacrificing money, a promotion, or our culture's most prized possession—time. When we understand that all good things are gifts from God, we are free to give them up for the good of others.