Sacrifice is an action made by an individual or a group of people offering a victim, human or animal, or an object to a divinity following certain rituals. A sacrifice can also be the act of giving up on something or someone important for something that is supposed to be more important, or for the love of someone.

Sacrifice, religious or not, requires to show self denial : we accept to give up on something really important for us for a cause that might not be that important for us. It’s a very heroic act that requires a lot of generosity and altruism (cf courage, generosity).

A sacrifice doesn’t always imply killing a living creature for a divinity, or to die to save someone else’s life. One can sacrifice other things : time, an opportunity, a relationship...

This kind of action leads to the question of one’s relationship with others : how far are we ready to go for other people? What are we willing to give up for someone else? Would this person make the same sacrifice for us? If we make sacrifices for a cause: is it worth it? Are we going to regret it later?

Even if sacrifice is seen as a pious and heroic action, you mustn't take it lightly. You have to be aware that you might never get the thing you sacrificed back, that thing probably being your own life.