The recent situation I was talking about-the Coptic Christians on the bus who were murdered, some where asked if they were Christian, to renounce Jesus as God (Muslims believe He is a prophet only) and they refused and were shot. You over think things and seem to get off track and miss the point. 
Self denial involves being willing to let go of our own ideas and opinions and humbly deferring to the wisdom of God, as well as not over indulging ourselves in pleasures and too many worldly, material things. And that barely scratches the surface of the doctrine of self-denial.