Deny Yourself

Luke 9:23 (NIV)

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

What? Deny myself! That sounds like something I’m not into right now in my life, and I don’t think I want that on my list of things to do. I mean, come on. I want to sit on the couch all day and eat Bon Bons, drink coffee and watch my shows. OK, I’ll throw in a glass of water because it’s good for me.

This year I will be turning 65 yrs old. Wow, that is old. In my book if I’ve lived this long I shouldn’t deny myself anything. Hummm, not sure God agrees with my train of thought.

Does He really want me to be mean to myself? For some reason when I think of denying myself, it translates a negative feeling. But should it really be like that. 

Denying myself should make me feel better if I put it into the right context. God wants us to be good to ourselves. “Love your neighbor as you love yourself”, we’ve all heard that before. Sitting on the couch eating Bon Bons is not good for me. It’s not healthy living. A treat is one thing, but not a way of life. Not getting up for hours is not a good thing; our bodies were made to move.

Putting this into context is important for us to deepen our relationship with God. Deny yourself a TV show or computer games for reading your Bible. This would give you Biblical education and a closer relationship with God. What could be wrong with that? Go for a walk and talk with God and observe your surroundings that He gave you. Healthy activity for your body, mind and soul. 

So if you are like me and think of denying yourself as punishment, let me challenge you to take a different look at it when it comes to your relationship with God.

May God Bless