Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

The verse cited in the question comes from the same chapter in the gospel of Luke where Jesus spoke of people having to hate their own fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, spouses and children, and even their own lives, in order to be His disciples (Luke 14:26).

Such passages suggest the need for reconciling a seeming conflict between them and other portions of Scripture in which God clearly commands honoring of parents (Exodus 20:12); or that speak of God delighting in prospering His servants (Psalm 35:27); or that tell God's followers to love others in the same way that they love themselves (Leviticus 19:18).

The key is a matter of priorities. Nothing in believers' lives must take precedence over their commitment to Christ and their relationship with Him. If a believer is forced to make an either-or choice between anything on earth and God, loyalty to God must prevail, even if it comes to the extreme of having to give up all of one's material possessions; or having to sever relationships with people (no matter how close) who stand between the believer and Christ; or even having to give up one's own temporal life.

Although most people may not be confronted with such a drastic situation, the same conflict can also arise in less pronounced forms in a myriad of seemingly mundane day-to-day actions and choices in relationships and expenditure of time and resources, as well, and Christians must always be mindful of whether they are giving an appropriate witness to their faith in God and their supreme allegiance to Him by their allocation of the life and blessings that God has entrusted to them.

August 19 2016 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report