Self-denial has never been a very popular or attractive phase of religious teaching. Yet one of the basic statements of Christ Jesus is: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." Matt. 16:24, 25; In the light of Christian Science we have come to see that we are never required to sacrifice anything real but are required to yield up our false beliefs, and this includes a false sense of self.
Self-denial may not seem attractive until one begins to see the reason for it, the potential involved, and the scientific nature of the requirement. The mortal self includes all that is limited, discordant, and delusive. It is a belief of life and intelligence in matter, and it poses as a mind separate and opposite to God, divine Mind. A denial of this mind opens the way to realize the presence and power of the divine Mind as the Mind of man and of man as the perfect expression of this immortal Mind. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mrs. Eddy includes this statement: "Absorbed in material selfhood we discern and reflect but faintly the substance of Life or Mind. The denial of material selfhood aids the discernment of man's spiritual and eternal individuality, and destroys the erroneous knowledge gained from matter or through what are termed the material senses." Science and Health, p. 91;
It is easier to deny mortal selfhood when we realize that this self is an individual instance of mortal mind or error. Jesus was pointing at the false self when he said, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." John 8:44; This is a description of mortal mind and the mortal self, a description that helps us impersonalize error so that we are more willing to deny it. In denying mortal self we are really denying mortal mind. On the other hand, the real man is the individual expression of Truth and Love. When we identify ourselves with divine Principle by expressing the qualities of God, we individualize good and are able to manifest the healing power of Love.
