If you’re genuinely following Jesus, very few people want to hear what you say.

The first thing that all of Jesus’ disciples did was leave their jobs, their wives, their children, their homes, and their stuff. None of Jesus’ followers had property or spouses or children. THERE WERE NO CHILDREN LIVING AMONG THE FOLLOWERS. There were children who came to listen to Jesus as he taught (and he welcomed them with open arms and blessed them), but there were no children living among the followers, just as there were no people living with spouses. Jesus’ followers lived childless, celibate and without stuff, as Jesus did.

If you’re genuinely following Jesus, very few people want to hear what you say.

Jesus said that if you don’t hate your mother and your wife and your husband and your child, you are not worthy of the Kingdom. Jesus said that not your blood relatives but those who do the will of God the Father are your brethren. What did he mean by that? Just what he said. He wasn’t speaking in code. He was laying it out in black and white so he couldn’t be misinterpreted.

If you’re genuinely following Jesus, very few people want to hear what you say.

Television and YouTube channels are filled with “Christian couples” and their ministries. That right there is a massive red flag that these people are not following Jesus. Oh, they might have a certain veneer of “holiness” and claim to be doing God’s will, but so do Muslims and Orthodox Jews, and they’re definitely not following Jesus. How can you be doing God’s will if you if you defy Jesus’ teachings on living childless and celibate and without stuff? If your child means more to you than following Jesus, then you’ve made your choice, but it’s the wrong one. If your spouse means more to you than following Jesus, then you’ve made your choice, but it’s the wrong one. If your job and your home and your friends and your stuff all mean more to you than following Jesus, then you’ve made your choice, BUT IT’S THE WRONG ONE.

If you’re genuinely following Jesus, very few people want to hear what you say.

Scripture says that many are called, but few are chosen. Television and the Internet are filled with people who may or may not have been called (only God knows for sure), but of these, how many will ultimately be chosen (that is, make it home to Heaven) if they continue to live in defiance of God’s Word? Was Jesus only kidding when he taught his followers to live unmarried, childless and without property? Was he only kidding when he said that if you don’t “hate” your blood relatives (that is, put them of less or no importance compared to doing God’s will), you’re not worthy of the Kingdom?

If you’re genuinely following Jesus, very few people want to hear what you say.

Jesus’ mother and brother eventually converted and became followers of Jesus, but they weren’t his followers during his ministry years. They weren’t among his original disciples. In fact, neither was his cousin John, known as The Baptist. John claimed to know that Jesus was the Messiah, but he still wasn’t 100% convinced. As Jesus’ ministry progressed without fanfare and Jesus himself started to clash with the powers that be, John started to doubt Jesus. Yet even without the support of his mother or siblings or other relatives (or his home town or his home nation or his people, or, in the end, his own followers), Jesus continued his work unfazed. He did not compromise. He did not try to convince them. He did not give into them just to keep the peace. He did not do what was expected of him by people: he did what was advised him by God.

We are to do the same, as followers of Jesus. To be a follower of Jesus means to make the same choices as Jesus made and to follow his teachings. His teachings are not hazy or unclear: They mean exactly what they say. You may not like them or agree with them, but that doesn’t make them any less true.

If you are genuinely following Jesus, very few people want to hear what you say.