Sacrificial Love and Heroic Prudence

“Prudence takes into account a deeper wisdom about the human condition than can be gleaned from a simple cost-benefit analysis. It understands that human communities are not merely about justice and the Gross Domestic Product, but about love. Sacrificial love doesn’t hesitate to rush in even against the worst odds. Though the lover doesn’t think in these terms, this is utterly reasonable. As a Christian this reasonableness is perhaps easier for me to see because I believe that the potential benefits of self-sacrifice are visible, if only through a glass darkly, in eternity with God. But I think that many secular people can grasp this, if only through an even darker glass, when they think about their desires for their world. They want to live in a place where there are people who judge that it is wise and right to risk their lives for their fellows.”

~David Deavel