Is there such a thing as denying yourself too much for God?
CONVERSATIONS
It was Ravi Zacharias that once said that, all of life is pain management.
Pain management, and other words like suffering, tolerating, and bearing is what most people associate the phrase denying yourself to. But denying yourself is a question of values, more than just plain endurance.
1. Name five people, things, concepts, or experiences that you value the most.
A. _________________________________________
B. _________________________________________
C. _________________________________________
D. _________________________________________
E. _________________________________________
2. Let's say that your most important answer from the list above requires you to give up something in exchange for him/her/it to be happy. Would you do it? Why or why not?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
The degree by which you value something/someone determines your tolerance for pain in exchange for the its/his/her happiness. It's easy to grumble and complain when you deny yourself for something very trivial and unimportant to you, but the game changes when something or someone you love is on the line. Why? Because you have a relationship with it/him/her. Suddenly, not only can you tolerate the act of self-denial, you might even be able to forget that you're doing it in the first place.
3. How much do you value God? ____________________________
4. When was the last time you had to give up something or someone for God? What happened?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
5. How did it feel during the process? How about after?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
God's position in your life shapes how much you are willing to sacrifice your time, convenience, or possessions in order to grow in your relationship with him.
If you think of Him as the least of your priorities, then the littlest sacrifices seem gastronomical.
If you regard Him as your topmost priority in life, you wouldn't mind letting go of certain things, in order to gain more from the relationship you have with God.
Let's pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for valuing us so much that You sent Your son to take our place on the cross. Lord, we pray for humble hearts. Remove all sense of pride and self-entitlement, that we may remember what You did for us in order for us to be freed.
May we learn that Your laws aren't burdensome, but an opportunity for us to grow closer to you. May we count it all joy to lay down our life and serve You, O Lord, for all You have done for us.
In Jesus name. Amen.
My Comments Policy
While my site offers visitors the ability to converse, I have a few ground rules so that our conversations will remain civil and courteous.
1. You must register in order to leave a comment. I don’t entertain pseudo, anonymous or bogus individuals. This site is my home (it has a Home Page, get it). I don’t let strangers who don’t introduce themselves into my home.
2. I love questions. I love them because a lot of times they are similar to someone else’s questions and can even trigger other questions from others. Questions also keep us all sharp. This is also why I respond to them as best as I can and at the soonest possible time. I believe that group answering benefits more people than private email exchanges.
3. We don’t have to agree. Debates are welcome. However, whether it is with me or any other visitors of my site, my rule is this: disagree if you must but keep things civil. That’s just how I run my home, and you are a visitor here. No shouting; I have seen it done in writing. No cursing and no insulting.
4. I reserve the right to delete your comments. Like I said, this is my home. I do not have an obligation to publish your comments. As a human being, you may enjoy the freedom to express your opinions on your own site but not on mine. To be specific, I will delete your comments if you post content that is in my sole opinion: (a) snarky; (b) off-topic; (c) libelous, defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, profane, pornographic, offensive, false, misleading, or which otherwise violates or encourages others to violate my sense of decorum, civility or any law, including intellectual property laws; or (d) “spam,” i.e. an attempt to advertise, solicit, or otherwise promote goods and services. You may, however, post a link to your site or your most recent blog entry.
5. You retain ownership of your comments. I do not own them and I expressly disclaim any and all liability that may result from them. By commenting on my site, you agree that you retain all ownership rights in what you post here and that you will relieve me from any and all liability that may result from those posts.
6. You grant me the license to post your comments. This license is worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free. By posting comments on my site, you automatically grant me the right to store, use, transmit, display, publish, reproduce, and distribute your comments in any format, including but not limited to a blog, in a book, video, or presentation.
In short, my goal is to host interesting conversations with caring, honest, and respectful people. I believe this clear and simple comments policy will facilitate this.
