Luke 9

23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

Hun? Calling Mr. Hun.

Jesus is saying put away self interest, & follow the example he set for us. Our time here is not to be spent chasing after our own pleasure, & personal benefits, but rather allowing the call that God has given us to be his servants, in the spreading of the gospel, & living a life that represents our new way of thinking, & acting as demonstrated by Jesus.
Jesus also said he came that we might have life, & enjoy it. If we follow him, he will make sure we get what we need, & that we will enjoy our lives.

If you consider your present life more important than following the Son of God, you will find out that you are damned for rejecting Him.

If you consider following God more important than your life, you will have eternal life, and a new (renewed/purified) spirit/heart/life on this earth.
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There is also an added aspect that freedom from the slavery of sin is only found in Jesus, therefor denying your animal impulses and following Him will allow one to lead a life free from that slavery, as that one is freed from the noetic effects of sin.  This is a progressive change (sanctification) as opposed to the immediate(justification) declaration of "sinless" that the believer has when given a new spiritual life in Jesus (the thought of the first explanation).

He's saying, "You can run, but you can't hide".....[:D]

DING! DING! DING! DING!

Thank you for saving me some typing.

I thought it might be a call to martyrdom?

right on bro