“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt 16:24–26)

Jesus’s words continue to challenge us today. The call to deny ourselves and take up our crosses in pursuit of Jesus often makes us wince. We love ourselves. We love our lives just as they are. We love the comfort of our houses, our friends, our family. Why would we want to change? For these reasons and more we grow too comfortable. We’ve become too comfortable using and laughing at foul language so that we forget to encourage others with our words and actions. We have grown so accustomed to lusting or viewing pornography that our eyes gloss over Jesus’ statement that lust is adultery. We are so snug in our luxurious clothes, houses, and cars that we forget the biblical command to care for the poor, the widows, and orphans.

One simple solution to these vices is to be more intentional with how you live your life. If we wake up each day and meditate on living up to the call of the gospel and pray for God’s mercy and help, we will undoubtedly notice a significant difference in our behavior and attitude. We must intend to live like Christ in every aspect of our lives. This is not to say that we will be perfect. Instead, we will be like Paul who said, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:12–14).