Jesus said, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves." (Luke 9:23 NRSV Bible)
Many self-help books tell us that denial is good. Self-denial is the path to success. If you delay gratification, if you work hard, if you put your money into savings, if you wait to have your needs met until a time when you can afford it, if you cut down on your cholesterol and get plenty of exercise, then you can be successful. We all recognize the wisdom of that advice. To gain control over our desires--to subjugate them to some greater and higher goal--this is the path that leads to fulfillment. Everyone of us at some time or another has followed this advice.
I read about a cartoon once that showed a little boy attempting to lead a huge Saint Bernard dog on a leash. The dog was dragging the boy along behind and obviously in a different direction from which the boy wanted to go. The young fellow was bracing his feet and turning to the dog and angrily shouting, "Let's get this straight! You are my dog. I'm not your boy." Denying ourselves of some things in life is a lot like this boy--they can pull us in the opposite direction we want to go, but we must preserver.
We all recognize that somehow we must, if we are going to be successful, control our desires. How else can we "be all that we can be?"
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