No public cause is worth your personal sacrifice
… and that of your wife, children and other dependents.
Yes. Looking after oneself is a duty befallen on you. And the family that you have created out of your own mischief! None of your children had sent an application (in triplicate) choosing to be born as your children! Haven’t you covenanted at the time of your marriage that you’ll take of your wife? What right have you got to derelict your duty towards your self and your kin for the sake of dogmas that you fancy?
In another vein, history is replete with instances where the result of sacrifices have seldom fulfilled the cause for which the stupid man has subordinated his self. Take the case of folks who had inflicted terrible suffering upon themselves while fighting for freedom of India from British imperialists. Thiyagi Subramaniya Siva is a classic example. Coming off a very poor family he chose to take up the role of a lone warrior against British. A married man, he brought his brought his family to abject poverty in this process. The same is the case of Mahakavi Subramaniya Bharathi.
What have they achieved in the real sense? Freedom from what, freedom for whom? The real fruits of freedom is enjoyed by which section of society – corrupt, unscrupulous, exploiters, cheats, black marketeers, profiteers…! The lot of common man remains the same.
But was their sacrifice worth it? The British imperialists would have anyway cleared of the Indian sub-continent since they had lost their status of a significant maritime power in the post-2nd world war scenario and also because India, as a colony had ceased to be of any real economic value addition to the British.
Think about it!