Prosecution. Death. Struggle. Poverty. These are extremely common themes in the New Testament. This was the cost for many people to follow Jesus in the first century, and still is for many people around the world today. 

But what is the cost of being a Christian in America? For most of us, following Jesus won’t get us kicked out of the house, it won’t get us killed, it won’t cause us harm and suffering like many of the disciples and Christians all around the world dealt with and still do. So, what will following Christ cost us in a country that seems to never threaten it? It costs yourself. 

In the United States, the war we as Christian’s fight is not against people who want to take our lives for our faith, it is against the culture that wants our soul. American Society is self-centered, and although it claims to be a “Christian Nation”, it is anything but that. Jesus wants us to lose ourselves and our desires and follow him, but America says to follow your dreams and do what you want. It is literally called the American Dream. While it may seem harmless, the essence of a great life in this country can draw many people of great faith to live in the opposite direction of what Jesus demands. 

Being a true devoted Christian in America is much harder than one may realize. The lack of a true threat against a Christian’s life may seem like a blessing on the outside, but what it lacks in threats it makes up for in distraction. For a person in an underground church in a foreign Country, Christ is all they have. For an American in a society that offers everything, Christ is just one of many things they have. We have boiled down being a Christian to whether you attend a service once a week, then go about your life for the next 6 days. That is not sharing the same faith as a group of hungry believers across the globe that must meet in secret. Jesus is either everything or he is nothing. 

Matthew 16:25 – “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”. These are words directly from Christ himself. Yes, some people are called to be martyrs and to truly suffer for being a Christian. For others of us that don’t face this threat, the absolute most important thing is to find life in Christ by denying ourselves and our desires. In Western Society, we are told to chase after what we want. Jesus calls us to chase after Him. That is where true life is found. 

“Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be changed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” – Romans 12:2. 

When there isn’t an immediate threat of our faith, it can be easy to fall into the trap of having Jesus as just one of many things in our life. American society isn’t coming after your faith, they are coming after your desires. Whether here or across the world, Jesus calls his believers to deny themselves and pick up their cross. He should still be your everything regardless of the situation. He didn’t defeat death itself just to be a “part” of your life. He created us, died for us, and rose again so that we would put him first in everything we do. 

“Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil” 

Proverbs 3:7