Preface
When we read the Bible, we have to take extra caution when we reach the words of Jesus. His words are never frivolous, his intentions never abstract. We should always read his words with slow, careful attitudes. Allow Jesus' words to interpret you before you try to interpret them. With that being said, I was reading Luke chapter 14 a few weeks ago and it struck me as one of the more odd passages. Starting with verse 25, Luke records Jesus' teaching on the cost of discipleship. This entry is devoted to the strange but significant language that is used throughout his teaching.
No, No, No
After getting to know the person of Jesus Christ, it doesn’t take the Reader long to recognize that Jesus isn't always understandable and neither is he just a really nice guy. Sometimes he speaks harshly. The second half of Luke 14 is one of those harder passages. It is a calling unlike any other in all of Scripture. It is a salvation message that rarely gets repeated today in a world of niceness and feel-good messages.
Jesus, the Messiah, is walking around the countryside of Judea and turns to the large crowd that's following him and spouts out a slew of negative language that, when added together, constitutes a very positive message. These are the words of Christ: "'If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own life-- he cannot be my disciple.'" Whoa. He's not done… "'And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple'" (Luke 14:25-27). Jesus continues his seemingly backward approach by using two examples of what it looks like to count the cost of discipleship: construction and war. Throughout these two hypothetical stories, Jesus remains negative.
When speaking of the builder, he supposes that the man building who "does not sit down and estimate the cost "will not be able to finish" and will be ridiculed (v. 28-30). He explains the wrong way to construct a tower... as opposed to the right way. The optimist's perspective of building a tower is to admire and anticipate it's shelter, architectural beauty, the grand design, etcetera. But what I'm trying to say is that Jesus chose to speak from the negative, seemingly pessimistic angle of construction: the cost. He speaks of construction as destruction. Because of the context, Dear Reader, and for the sake of ease and functionality, in this entry (and the one following it) I will use destruction synonymously with construction. I hope you understand.
In his second example, he speaks, oddly enough, of war. Again, if the king "does not consider" what it will take to win the war, "he will not be able" to win and will have to discuss terms of peace (v. 31-32). There is no optimistic view of war. The mere fact that Jesus chose to use this as his example of the cost of discipleship is strange enough. Notice that he implies discussing "terms of peace" is a bad thing and being prepared to fight is a good thing.
He finishes his talk accordingly: "[A]ny of you who does not give up everything he has, he cannot be my disciple" (v.33). First, he turns to the crowd and talks about hating everything, then of the cost and destruction required in building, then of war!?!
Strange, huh? I mean, that doesn't sound like the stereotypical, three-point "alter call" kind of sermon one might hear on a Sunday morning. It's strange… the whole idea behind his inverted salvation message is focused on the cost not the gain of being a believer. Jesus begins this lesson with a negative ("hate") and ends it with a negative ("cannot without").Why didn't Jesus speak more positively and warmly? Why couldn't he have said it like this: "To follow me you must love everyone, you must lay down everything in your life, and follow me. Count the cost of what it'll take to follow me before you enter into relationship with me. Then, you can become my disciple"? Doesn't that sound friendlier? Doesn't that have a more politically correct ring to it? It feels better going down that way, huh?
So, why did he use such negative language? What happens when he phrases it that way? The significance of Jesus' negative language is worth examining. There is a unique power in what he's saying here.
The Theology of Negativity
The life of a disciple requires as much denial as it does acceptance; it takes death and destruction before we can receive the ultimate life and creation. Look at it this way: in order for Christ to live in us, something must die. We must deny ourselves (Luke 9:23). To be "more than conquerors" there must be something that is conquered (Romans 8). To marry one woman, one must reject all other women; to chose God is to deny all other gods.
But hate? That's a bit strong, Jesus. Did he really say that we must "hate" our family? Yes he did, but before we jump to the conclusion that he was a heretical, hypocritical lunatic, we must first investigate the context and the word's true definition. The word hate in Greek is miseó which is derived from the word misos which means "to love less." Of course Jesus wasn't suggesting that we should wish death upon our family. For that would go against God's very own decrees. Instead, he was saying that we ought to love our families and our friends and those around us less than we love God. The moment anything is cherished more than God is the very same moment that those items are cast in bronze and worshiped as an idol.
Sports provide a picture that might help clear up this theology of negativity. An athlete must say no to certain foods in order to maintain a healthy diet all for the sake of becoming a better athlete. He must deny warm Krispy Kreme doughnuts that are dripping with sugar, he must deny a 24 ounce Dr. Pepper for brunch, he must deny Pop-Tarts in the morning, and he must deny sleeping 14 hours a night. Why? So that he may keep his body in shape. Running is not enough. It is a lifestyle of discipline. At times we must forgo comfort for Christ's sake. The very act of obedience requires the denial of other actions, right? When I was younger, my dad would ask me to mow the lawn. Sometimes reluctantly, I'd put down my action figure, or whatever I was playing with, and mow the lawn. By doing what he asked of me, I was not doing a million other actions. It is the same in our relationship with God. Meditating on His Word is choosing not to do anything else with that moment of your time. Discipline is denial.
Reader, I pray that we'd say yes to God and no to whatever else captures our attention. I pray that you and I hunger to hate everyone else in comparison to God. I pray that we don't just listen or understand the theology of negativity, but that we practice it. Learn to say no to everyone and everything else but God. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and He has true living water that does not run dry. Amen.
