<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Jesus said to His disciples, \u2018If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me’\u201d (Matthew 16:24).<\/p>\n
SELF-DENIAL IS A DIFFICULT DISCIPLINE, TO BE SURE, BUT IT IS ONE OF LIFE\u2019S MOST IMPORTANT VIRTUES. If we wish to become disciples in any serious sense, we must learn to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Christ.<\/p>\n
One reason we find self-denial so difficult is that it goes against the grain of our culture. The social environment in which we live is increasingly dominated by self-affirmation rather than self-denial. This ethic comes through loud and clear in the lyrics of our popular music. For example, a hit by one of the most powerful pop stars of the past decade tells us, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to do what you\u2019ve got to do.\u201d Another song, this one even by an artist known for his spirituality, says, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to do it in your own way.\u201d<\/p>\n
What is wrong with this philosophy? It is certainly true that when tough personal decisions have to be made, we must summon the courage to act on our own convictions. When we\u2019ve analyzed a decision from every angle and considered the advice of others, the time comes when we have to make up our own minds. Integrity requires that we do what we believe is right, even if this conflicts with the collective judgment of everybody we know.<\/p>\n
But the philosophy of self-affirmation advocates far more than the simple following of conscience. Instead, when we\u2019re told that \u201cyou\u2019ve got to do what you\u2019ve got to do,\u201d it\u2019s understood that what we\u2019ve \u201cgot to do\u201d is whatever we want<\/em> to do. One of the scariest statements I have ever heard illustrates this ethic. The remark came from a very up-to-date friend who said with evident satisfaction, \u201cIt feels so good at this point in my life finally to have the courage to do what I want<\/em> to do and not what anybody else says I ought<\/em> to do.\u201d In our culture, \u201cwant\u201d defeats \u201cought\u201d every time.<\/p>\n As \u201cself-actualized\u201d people, then, it is hard for us to learn self-denial. We do not find it easy to yield to God when what we want is on a collision course with His standards of what is right. Yet self-denial is what we must learn. Somehow we must recover the old-fashioned virtue of sacrifice<\/em> \u2014 the willingness to let go of everything except that which most greatly glorifies God.<\/p>\n \u201cWe tend to be devoted, not to Jesus Christ, but to the things which allow us more spiritual freedom than total surrender to Him would allow\u201d (Oswald Chambers).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n