Should we do What’s Right, or What’s Best for Me?

Luke 14:25-30
²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

²⁸ “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? ²⁹ For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

I’m going to come right out and just say it. I believe that the right thing to do, is to be a disciple of Jesus, and to follow Him, and His teachings.

What your opinion on the matter is, that’s for you to decide.
I’m hoping that you can pay the price of a small amount of time to read and consider what I write here. 🙂

To be a follower of Jesus, there is a cost involved. In the passage above, Jesus clearly tells us this. So, is there a reason of “why” we should consider paying this cost?

Paying a cost, could easily be considered to be a bit of a “pain”. So why should we choose a route, that has a type of pain associated with it?
(If you don’t want to do it, then going to church could be a pain. Likewise reading the bible or praying could be thought of as being a pain.)

So, why consider a path that has any type of pain associated with it?

But what if, the pain that you are seeing as an inconvenience, is actually a protecting pain, trying to steer you clear, of a much greater pain?

Last week I wrote about a pain being a protecting pain, and this post is a follow on from that post.

I’ve had a very recent experience of a pain being removed, to then experience a greater pain. If I had known about the greater pain, that the lesser pain was trying to protect me from, then I would have gladly sought out the first, lesser pain, so that the greater pain, would be kept further away from me.
Seeking the lesser pain, is what I did in the end. Paying the cost of having the lesser pain, was something, that was worth paying for.

I am currently seeing that the cost of following Jesus, can very much so be considered in this way.
There is a cost to pay, and it may even be considered a bit of a pain (at times), or inconvenience to pay that cost, but is it a cost that is worth paying, because of where it leads to?
Or it could be considered as a cost worth paying, because of a protection, that it then provides?

From my point of view, I can easily say that, “Yes, it is a cost that IS worth paying!”

That protecting element means that following Jesus leads me to be with Him, as a final destination, instead of the other place, where Jesus speaks of there being much pain and anguish.
Paying a small cost now, so that a much greater cost won’t need to be paid later.

My final destination, in a lot of ways, is benefit enough to consider it worth paying the cost for following Jesus alone. But there are more benefits to following Jesus, in the here and now!
The Peace and Joy, that is available to those who gladly follow Jesus and His leading.

This is one that you just need to experience, to truly understand, but when you experience it, then you’ll know what I’m talking about. 🙂

I could so easily get distracted and start to focus on the benefits, of the banquet that God is preparing for us, with all the blessings that He has, ready and waiting for us, but I’m feeling that I need to come back to where I started from.

Should we do what’s right, or what’s best for me?

Unfortunately, we have a self seeking interest at our heart.
If we are honest with ourselves, then we can all probably see this. What is best for me, and what is right, may not always be aligned, and sometimes we can know this to be the case.

The cost of following Jesus, can be thought of as, being willing to pay the price for doing what is right, even if it may not appear to be the best thing for me.

So, if we can start to view this cost as being a cost, that is worth paying, then could that help us with our motivation, to be willing to pay that cost?
A cost that ultimately protects us, and leads us to being closer to Our Lord God, the One who saves us all.

Have you ever done something, that cost you personally, that someone else then got the benefit from?
Have you then been pleased to do it, and would happily do it again, because of how the other person benefited from your actions?
Could your experience be thought of as “Doing something that is right, that wasn’t the best thing for you” ?

Could we start to see the cost of following Jesus, as a cost that is worth paying for, in this way?

For those of us who are already Jesus’s disciples, could we gain a better understanding of the cost, which could then lead a a greater willingness to pay it?

If your not already a disciple or follower of Jesus, and your thinking that this might be a cost that is worth paying, then please, keep reading.

To be a follower of Jesus, at the heart of it, it’s about saying “Yes” to God, and to be willing to follow where He leads us.
A starting point could be to just say, “Lord God, Yes. I want to Know and Follow You. Please help me to do this. Amen”

As a follow up, to saying the above “Yes” you could pray the prayer below. It’s a more complete way of asking Jesus into your heart and life.

Jesus, Lord God Almighty,
I acknowledge that You are real, and ask for You to come into my heart and life.
I’m sorry that I’ve not done this before and I’m sorry for the things that I’ve done wrong in the past.
But here and now, I ask for You to enter on into my heart and life.
Please help me to hear and to know You.
Please help me to be able to follow where You lead me to go.
Help me to say Yes to You, from here on in.
Thank you that You accept me, that I am your child, and that You are my Loving Heavenly Father.
Amen.

If you have just said the above prayer for the first time, then I’d like to say, “Welcome to Our Lord God’s family.”
I would recomend that you do, go and tell someone. If you know someone who is a christian, then please, do tell them.
There is a confirmational power as we speak out, what we decide to do in our heart.

For all who are part of Our Lord God’s family, those who are new, and those who have been around for a bit longer.
I pray that we will all be able to see and hear what Our Lord God would like for us to do.
I pray that we would be willing to pay the cost of of what Our Lord asks of us.
I ask that, You, Lord, would help us to see and understand that it is a small cost, that is worth paying, that then pleases You.
Amen.