Christian Bible Lesson 109: Deny Ourselves

Bible Verses

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” –Matthew 16:24-25

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” – Colossians 3:1-2

Christian Bible Lesson Overview

It is especially important in times of stress that we do not give in to the quickest most painless response to a situation.  Many times, people tend to only think about how an action affects them at the time.  In their haste, they do not consider how their actions will affect them over time or how their decisions affect other people.

Sometimes it seems easier to deny Christian values to avoid short-term consequences.   However, often this action causes much more stress after time passes.  The stress from worrying that someone will learn about a lie can be much more destructive than telling the truth initially. 

It is important to take time to think about your actions before you do something that will hurt you later.  Following Christian values will always strengthen your character and aid those people near you.

Christian Bible Lesson for Today

Brian was a popular man who worked hard to support his business and was always there for his family and friends.  He believed strongly in helping other people and he practiced that belief all the time. 

However, when he was young, he misrepresented some of his work experience and embellished his college education.  Although he believed in Christian values, he thought that deliberately exaggerating his work experience and his education was not going to hurt anyone and he wanted to secure a quality job.  However, Brian had no idea how long he would feel stressed from not being truthful.   He developed great friendships with people who thought he had high-level experience and that he had a master’s degree.  Every time he had a conversation with a friend about work, they would bring up the experience or the degree.  He felt forced to continue the lie.  He always felt pain and realized that following Christian Values is important, even if the current event does not seem that important. 

Of course, Brian realized that even denying his Christian Values for minor situations can cause pain and suffering for a long time.  He clearly saw the value in not giving into temptation but taking the time to think about what he was doing and follow Christian Values.

Summary Christian Bible Lesson

It is easy to give into temptation and deny yourself of your Christian Values.  However, if you take the time to think about what you are doing and compare your options to Christian Values, you will not have stress from making quick choices that haunt you for long periods of time.