The Duty of Self-Denial

Self-denial runs against the grain of our indulgent Western culture. “Self-denial lodges but in a few breasts. It is a sacred, exotic herb which has grown very scarce.” Modern misconception tends to relegate self-denial to an ancient world of monasteries, hair shirts, and self-flagellation. However, as Watson shows, there is nothing more Biblical or Christian than true self-denial. “Self-denial is the first principle of Christianity. It is the life-blood which must run through the whole body of religion.” Christ calls us to deny our wills, our own righteousness, our appetites, our ease, our inordinate passions, our relations, our estates, and even our lives for Him. There is no alternative to a life of self-denial: “There may be going to heaven without comfort, but there is no going there without self-denial.”