Article May 23, 1931 Issue

Denying, not Depriving

STANLEY PHILIP FLETCHER

A first glance at the passage might tempt one to believe that when he said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself," Jesus intended us to deny ourselves joy and happiness in our present sense of existence. It is in this limited way that the Scriptures have often been interpreted; and through all sorts of cruel and self-inflicted practices men have attempted to live up to the requirements of their beliefs. These painful methods were believed to make them better spiritually, and were adopted with the most devout intent of bringing the sufferer nearer to God.

With the increase of spiritual understanding came enlightenment; but with many it is still the custom to regard the Sabbath as a day of gloom, the sign of devoutness being a lack of joy or good cheer. Some people assume the meaning of the word "deny" to be "deprive"; and so they proceed to show their devoutness by depriving themselves of happiness. Their earnest desire is to live close to God, and they feel that they can do this only by rigorous denial and scourgings of the flesh.

Through our understanding of Christian Science we are joyfully learning that in this saying Jesus did not require us to deprive ourselves of anything good, joyous, or helpful. He did not desire us to shut ourselves away from the beauty and joy all around us. No! He did not wish for this; but he did demand that we should deny ourselves, that is, deny the material sense of self.

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