Count the Cost

Love the Lord your God, walk in his ways, and keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances. (Deuteronomy 30:16) Amen.

George Armstrong Custer had not lost a battle he had fought in during the American Civil War or in the American Indian Wars. Until … the Battle of the Little Bighorn. There Custer met a combined force of Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes led by Crazy Horse and Chief Gall.

The U.S. 7th Calvary, a force of 700 men went up against a force of between 1500 to 2500 Indian warriors. Even though they were outnumbered more than 2 to 1, the Army troops had guns and bullets versus the arrows and spears of the Indians.

Custer made several mistakes that led to his only and lasting defeat. He didn't send advanced scouts because he was afraid of giving away his position. Without proper reconnaissance, Custer didn't know the exact size or location of the Indian village or the number of Indian warriors. (I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but the West can have some pretty wide-open spaces.)

Custer could go for days without food or sleep. His soldiers and their horses could not. Custer had force-marched his troops through the mountains to reach the village quickly. His men and horses were exhausted and not in peak fighting condition for battle.

Perhaps the biggest mistake Custer made was dividing his 700 men into three battalions. He sent Major Marcus Reno to attack the southern end of the village with three companies of 140 men. Custer sent Captain Frederick Benteen to scout and prevent the escape of the Indians to the south with three companies of 125 men. Custer led five companies with 210 men.

At the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Lt. Col. Custer was killed, along with 268 soldiers, with another 55 severely wounded.

At the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Lt. Col. Custer lost his life and the lives of so many soldiers because he did not count the cost – the cost of sending out scouts, of taking a day to rest, and especially keeping his forces together.

Today Jesus tells you to count the cost of following him. He says, "For which of you, if he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, everyone who sees it will begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build, but was not able to finish.' Or what king, as he goes out to confront another king in war, will not first sit down and consider if he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if he is not able, he sends out a delegation and asks for terms of peace while his opponent is still far away" (Luke 14:28-32). Jesus gives two rhetorical parables about counting the cost of following him. Who builds a tower without making sure he has enough money to finish the project? What king goes to war without calculating whether his force can defeat the opposing king's forces? Jesus summarizes his point in these parables saying, "So then, any one of you who does not say farewell to all his own possessions cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33).

Either you are willing to give it all up for Jesus – family, friends, possessions, freedom, even life – or you cannot be his disciple.

Jesus gives us a good reminder that following him comes at a cost. Having a close relationship with Jesus will cost us time, money, promotions, family, freedom, and much more. It could cost a relationship with a future spouse because you disagree on Jesus, his Word, and his Sacraments. It could cost you a relationship with your child when you called him to repentance for moving in with his girlfriend. It could cost you a relationship with your daughter when you remind her of the importance of baptizing your grandbabies. It could cost you a relationship with your extended family because you won't celebrate your niece's abortion, but instead counseled her to give the baby up for adoption. It could cost you a relationship with your parents when you try to honor them by telling them it's time to move into an assisted living place, but they think you're being disrespectful because they're stubborn and ornery.

It could cost you your job when you refuse to put your preferred pronouns in your email signature. It could cost you your education because you refuse to keep your hand down and mouth shut when your college professor spouts Woke nonsense. It could cost you friendships because your Christian beliefs influence your political beliefs, and you aren't shy about sharing either one.

Jesus tells us that we must count the cost of losing relationships with those we love so we make sure to hold onto the relationship with the God who loves us more. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26-27).

When Jesus says to "hate" your family members, the Greek word doesn't carry the emotion of our English word "hate." A close parallel would be "renounce." We must be willing to renounce any relationships that might interfere with our relationship with Jesus.

But that's hard, isn't it? We don't like hard. We prefer easy, manageable, and convenient. We'll hike as long as it's fairly flat. We'll bike, as long as it's not with Pastor Zarling. We'll travel some distance for God, but not as far as Abram did in the Old Testament. We'll carry a cross for Jesus, as long as it doesn't hurt too badly. We'll work together in the church, until someone disagrees with our ideas. We'll worship, as long as the service is under an hour. We'll support the ministry of the church, as long as we have enough for our personal expenses and entertainment. We like the pastor's sermons to be relevant, as long they don't hit too close to home. We are committed to God, as long as it all fits into our packed schedule.

We've counted the cost, haven't we? If following Jesus doesn't cost too much money, too much effort, too much time, too much commitment, or too many relationships, then we're fine. But it gets iffy when following Jesus costs too much.

We like our Christianity to be easy, manageable, and convenient. We are content with a Christianity with no accountability or requirements. We like our Christianity to be confined to one day a week. We like Christianity that allows us to keep quiet in our culture, keep our head down at work and school, and keep looking the other way as our society promotes the doctrine of demons with so-called "gender-affirming" surgeries, critical theory, and abortion on demand.

None of that is true Christianity, though. None of that is what Jesus wants from us.

Jesus wants us to put our faith into practice. Like the Lord challenging the Israelites to calculate between life and death. Like St. Paul encouraging his friend, Philemon, to give up the cost of a slave and accept Onesimus as a free man and a brother in Christ. Like Jesus' disciples who had left their boats, their businesses, and their families to follow Jesus. Like two thousand years of martyrs who gave up their lives for Jesus. Like the countless believers through the millennia who were exiled from their community, family, and freedom because they loved Jesus more than their possessions. All because they desired to be Jesus' followers.

If you've ever gone hiking with someone more experienced, you will hear them say, "It isn't very far." "It's not too steep." "It's just over the next incline." You realize quickly your "friend" is either lying to you or doesn't know what he's talking about. Jesus is truthful. He's open and honest. He knows what he's talking about when he relates the kind of pain that will accompany following him. Jesus told his disciples of all ages and eras that they are going to suffer in his name. He used the expression, "carry his cross." This cross-carrying entails humiliation, extreme pain, and death. It also implies being treated as a criminal.

Why would Jesus' disciples ever want to do that? It's because Jesus has made us disciples into different people. We were once on the road to hell, but now we have the sure promise of eternal life in heaven. We used to live in guilt, but now we live in forgiveness. Being a disciple of Jesus is worth all the suffering. There is glory that will be revealed in us.

We are afraid. We are quiet. We want it easy. Let's just admit it … we cannot be the kind of disciples Jesus desires.

Except what Jesus desires he also does. Jesus desires us to be his cross-carrying disciples so he makes us his cross-carrying disciples. Not by us volunteering for a cross. But by Jesus placing a cross on our backs. Jesus creates faithful disciples. He changes us into committed Christians.

Jesus is speaking to the crowds as he is headed to the cross in Jerusalem. Already from eternity, the Son of God counted the cost. He ran the numbers in collaboration with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is willing to have his own Father forsake him on the cross. He lays the foundation for the Christian Church upon his death and resurrection. He is the King of Kings who goes into battle against the Prince of this world. It is a battle of the Lion of Judah against the seven-headed red dragon. Jesus is alone – not against 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers, but against a mighty demonic horde from the depths of hell.

While the crowds were coming to Jesus to bug him for miracles and divine favors, Jesus wins God's divine favor with the miracle of the Lord of life dying a very human death. While Jesus knows you and I will bug him to make our earthly lives a little more convenient and a lot less stressful, Jesus gives up his life to grant us heavenly lives that will be eternally easy and without stress. Jesus knows how hard it is to renounce our family, friends, or freedom. Yet Jesus renounced it all – family, friends, freedom, glory, power, and his own life. He did this to save humanity. To save you. Jesus counted the cost of your salvation and considered you worth the price of his divine blood.

Jesus concludes with, "Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its flavor, how will it become salty again? It is not fit for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away" (Luke 14:34). The American Indians in this area of Wyoming used to get salt form the white alkali on the rims and floors of lakes in the vicinity of Independence Rock. The Indians did not use the salt for preserving meat. Instead, they relied on smoking or drying the meat to make jerky. The Indians would instead use salt for purification rituals, healing, seasoning their food, and for trading. Whether it was in Jesus' time or the time of the American Indians in Central Wyoming, or today, if salt loses its saltiness, then it's useless.

With his reference to salt, Jesus is teaching us to persevere and preserve in our faith. If our faith loses its faithfulness, what good is it? If our Christianity is without a cost, how useful is it? If you're looking for easy, Jesus says not to bother following him. Either give it all up or you give up being his disciple. You're either in or you're out. You're either a salty, cross-carrying disciple following Jesus or you're an unsalty, couch potato headed for the manure pile. Our faith functions like salt. It preserves us from corruption and decay. Then we can face each day with fresh confidence.

Jesus counted the cost of your salvation and considered you worth the price of his divine life. Now it's on you. Count the cost of faithfully following Jesus. You may lose your relationship with your family, but you retain your relationship with your Savior. You may lose your income or your freedom, but you gain the treasures of heaven and the freedom of forgiveness. You may lose your life, but you have been granted eternal life with Jesus. In these ways, you count the cost and realize you have won everything even as you have lost everything. Amen.

Choose life so that you and your descendants may live by loving the Lord your God, by listening to his voice, and by clinging to him. (Deuteronomy 30:19, 20) Amen.