Self-Denial: Where It All Begins

Before you become a father, you are a husband. The need for self-denial in the family starts there and only increases when you become a father. Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it." Jesus practiced infinite self-denial when He left heaven, came to earth as a baby, was treated poorly, and then willingly gave His body on the cross. None of us will ever deny ourselves as much as Jesus did, but He is our ultimate example. Luke 9:23 says "..If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." This is real self-denial. The "Cross" was not just a minor inconvenience like having a car in need of repair. The cross was an instrument of torture. Jesus can call us to a life of self-denial, even to the point of a horrible death, because He did the same and even more; He took on all the sins of His people. We will never be called to do that. We probably will not be called on to give our lives, but we need to be willing to do so. Living in the light of this can help when a child is sick and needs you to clean up vomit in the middle of the night, or you may want to relax and your son wants to play in the back yard, or you may need to administer discipline but it is easier not to, or... etc. I am sure you can come up with many of your own examples. Self-denial also comes into play when you have a hobby. Unless you can do it with your family (and they enjoy it), take that hobby and throw it in the trash. Retrieve it from the trash in a couple decades if you want, but do not let a hobby stand between you and your wife or children. King David was, overall, a very godly man, but he had his faults. David was not involved in the life of his son Adonijah, which caused his downfall and eventually even his execution. 1 Kings 1:6 "And his [Adonijah's] father [David] had not displeased him at any time saying, Why hast thou done so?..." Do not destroy your family as David did. Since Jesus gave up so much for us, we need to give up our pleasures for Him, our wives, and our children.