The Lord Jesus spoke of the cost of discipleship in Luke 14, emphasising in verse 28, "For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?" Apparently, it's important to the Lord that we should learn to count the cost before committing to follow Him – and if we are indeed His, it's important that we also learn to do that in other matters, too.
Counting the cost
Jesus used that passage to emphasise how much following Him is going to cost us. It's going to cost more than just one to two hours every Sunday and an hour weekly for a discipleship group. It's going to cost more than just one hour of quiet time in the mornings or evenings. It's going to cost more than a few seconds before meals. It's going to cost more than the time we have for that movie or hobby.
It's going to cost all that we have.
Applied to other things
As a Christ follower, we have to understand that all that we will commit ourselves to will either glorify God or somehow ridicule our testimony. As such, we also need to learn to count the cost before committing to other things, such as marriage, having a family, work, ministry, and even business.
Why do we need to count the cost before committing? Here are some reasons.
1. We might not be able to finish what we start
Jesus said in verse 29, "Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish..." When we commit hastily to a pursuit, even a godly one, we might fail to see that we are actually unable to finish what we start. Think first, bro.
2. We will become a subject of ridicule
Jesus continued, "... all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish'" (verses 29-30). When we fail to count the cost and hastily begin our commitment, then find out that we won't be able to finish it, we don't only end up failing to meet our promises. We might also become subjects of ridicule and mockery. You don't want this.
3. We will fail in glorifying God
This is the hardest part. In terms of discipleship, Jesus said in verse 33, "So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." In other commitments, it means many things.
It means that we were unable to resist our pride, saying "I can do it." It means we did not act wisely, asking God for wisdom before making the commitment. Worse, hastily making a commitment might open up doors for compromise to us just so that we could save face.
Be wise
Friends, be wise in making your commitments. Sit down and count the cost. If Jesus wants us to count the cost before following Him, we should also learn to count the cost before committing to anything because we are already following Christ.
