The stories we tell about sacrifice tell us about who and what we believe is valuable and noble. In telling us about the thing that is sacrificed, these stories tell us about what we believe is most difficult to give up. In telling us what we sacrifice for, these stories tell us about what our supreme values should be. In telling us what inner resources are required to bring the sacrifice, these stories tell us what virtues we ought to cultivate. In telling us who sacrifices, these stories tell us what a religious hero looks like—and who is capable of becoming such a hero.
