To Be Least

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)

      What does it mean to deny yourself. When you think about it, that is a pretty strong word. It does not say just to try to deny what you want. It says you must deny yourself.
      When you deny the existence of God, you act as if God does not exist. In the same way, when we deny ourselves, we must act like we no longer exist. We must live our life completely for the service of others and for God. We need to come to the place where we no longer care for what we want, but have our minds set on the needs of God and others.