Why deny?

Self-denial is self sacrifice, a sacrifice of one’s desires. Some sacrifices are certainly easier than others. I can easily deny myself and sacrifice the last piece of cake to give to my child. Well, pretty easily. It doesn’t mean I still don’t want that cake to satisfy my desire, but it’s really not that hard to give up. And truth be known, there is an extra bonus that crosses my mind – the extra calories I avoided. Sacrificing during lent is definitely more popular. I think and pray about what I am going to give up, I may talk about it with others, and then carry it out, hopefully with success.

But why is self denial important to the Christian life? I believe Jesus gave us a 3 step outline for following Him. “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). The first step is self denial (the focus of this post). Everything Jesus said, and the order in which he said things, was important. So telling the crowd and his disciples that they needed to deny themselves first, was significant. Jesus knew that in order for us to be complete followers, fully united to Him, denying ourselves would be critically important; for fleshly desires would be the very thing that would separate us from Him.

Desires come from within and we tend to look outwardly to have them filled. We all have different desires, from emotional to financial to spiritual to physical, etc. Our desires run the gamut. I believe we are all made to desire because ultimately we are designed to desire God. Desires, therefore, are not bad, but sometimes our desires can become disordered, and our need and craving for fulfillment can become sinful. Over time, those desires, if left unchecked, will interfere with our relationship with God. Don’t get me wrong. Pleasures are not a bad thing for God gave us the capacity to derive enjoyment from many things. But do my desires to find pleasure in “whatever’ override my seeking fulfillment from God. What really is at the root of my seeking a particular desire, what am I looking for and does my drive to fulfill that desire drive me?

So that brings us back to denial of self. Denying our desires is spiritually healthy. Denial of self keeps the flesh from strengthening to the point that it lives only to please itself. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, he said to his disciples when he found them sleeping, “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mt 26:40). So what was Jesus asking his disciples to watch for? I believe he was asking them to deny their desire for sleep (a desire of the flesh) in order to keep watch, to keep their eyes on Jesus. I don’t think we need to start pulling all-nighters, but I think we can ask ourselves, are there desires in me that affect and prevent my watching and keeping my eyes on Jesus? And is the Lord asking me for self-denial in this area?

We don’t have to look far into the life of Jesus to see that he lived a life of self-denial. Jesus denied himself the riches of the world, the power and glory of earthly kingship, and even his will, in order to unite himself to God, the Father. “…yet not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). That is the blessing of a Christian walk that encompasses self-denial, unity with the Father. Denial strengthens the spirit and fortifies the soul. Let us ask for the courage to look within and the boldness to ask from above to identify the desires that keep us from watching and gazing at Jesus.