The denial of oneself is not a new idea in Christian thought. We see it as a reoccurring theme in the New Testament, especially with our Lord. In Matthew 16:24 Jesus reminds his disciples of the importance of this when he says "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." The denial of self allows us to look to God first and enables us to place the will of God over our own; freeing our minds from the clutter of selfishness, pride, and other hinderances.
The great reformer John Calvin addressed the idea of self denial often in Book 3 of his Institutes of the Christian Religion. In his writing Calvin shows a true clarity of thought when addressing the struggles we believers face trying to move from our world of self-absorption to the spiritual state of self denial.
So let me close these few lines of thought with his words "In earlier times it was truly said that a world of evil is hidden in the soul of man. There is no remedy other than self-denial, which enables us to lay our own preferences aside, and to set our minds on the things which God requires, striving for them only because they are pleasing to him."
RefRev
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