Worth Dying For?

What makes something worth dying for? What makes a person willing to expend their life for someone or a cause?

We may love our job, but would we die for it? We may love giving to a charity, but would we die for it? Most people would not die for their job or for their favorite charity or many other things for that matter. Then where does it cross over into a passion so deep that we would literally die for something instead of sacrificing principles and saving ourselves?

John 10:11
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

17-18
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Jesus was willing to die for the people of this world. Evidently he saw the worth of mankind as more than his personal convenience. The Lord was convinced that the cause of salvation was worth everything he would be called upon to endure and even death when required.

Paul had a similar view when it came to dying for something and/or someone.

Philippians 1:21-24 (KJV)
²¹ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
²² But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
²³ For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
²⁴ Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

Notice he says that if he remains alive it is beneficial for Christ but if chose to die it would be gain to himself. Paul was willing to die for what he believed in and ultimately he did just that. He was equally willing to live inconvenienced if it meant the Philippians would receive benefit.

This really comes from being so persuaded that the person and cause is of such worth, that dying for it/them is a contribution and not personal loss. It’s something bigger than yourself, and you are a part, not the whole. In other words, the person or cause doesn’t exist exclusively for you, but you exist for the person and/or cause.

Luke 9:23-24 (KJV)
²³ And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
²⁴ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Jesus takes care of this when we are first saved. He requires us to pick up our cross and follow him on a daily basis. This means we must believe this is a cause worth dying for. I have to believe it’s bigger than me and I’m a part of something larger than myself. When I lay my life down, I have not lost, I have gained.

If you want to determine for yourself what things in life are worth dying for then simply consider your ideology and the weight of the values you hold contrasted with the consequences and implications of death.