Counting the cost

Luke 14

28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

I have been thinking about these verses in relation to some other choices that have been coming up. They do relate, but as I tried to write the post that I thought I was writing, I was diverted.

Jesus is talking about the price of discipleship here, knowing that it is heavy. Maybe if I hadn't written certain recent posts, I could put that aside, but there is a question, and it is a question members may be feeling. Does my discipleship require my church membership?

I know many people who have stopped going to church, and I don't think they considered the question. Sometimes they just weren't that interested in being a disciple, but more frequently they thought they could take a break and not lose anything. Some people just got mad.

There are more people asking themselves the question now, or other questions. Recently a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Janet Chamberlin, resigned from the choir because of their decision to sing for Trump. She has inspired many, but also angered many, and she is probably going to find many negative elements in the attention it has drawn. (I almost omitted her name because I do not want to draw anything bad to her, but her name is out there and I support her, so giving her credit seems best.)

Going back to Luke, it is interesting then that the Savior gives examples where it is perfectly valid to decide against what is being considered. A tower may be a good thing, but if you can't finish it then it is better not to start it.


If you are thinking about committing to Christ, and your ability to keep that commitment, and you realize you cannot, that is worth continuing to think about.

If you are not sure you believe, you can dig deeper and look for confirmation.

If you have stumbling blocks, you can identify and work on those.

Discipleship is a lot of work. You might be scared to say "no" to it, but a "yes" that you can't back up can be very harmful.

I like the idea of thinking things through anyway, but in this question, we are talking about things on an eternal scale. Keeping that perspective is important. There are reasons why it can be worth temporary suffering to have eternal life.

And truly, that's not why I do it. My following Christ happens because nothing else feels right. There is a peace that comes with believing that there will be good results, but for the big decision, of following or not, there is really only one possible answer.

That does not invalidate the need to think about all of the smaller questions: what trips me up? what would help that? And when I am frustrated with the church, I need to think about what I get from church, and what I would lose by leaving it.

I have seen too many people take a break from attending church and then lose the fire they had inside. That would make deciding not to attend a very extreme decision. I don't see that happening. Honestly, even if you worry that the church is full of bigots and you don't want to be one of them, leaving might be what causes it to be nothing but bigots. That is a reason to stay.

If there comes a time when I feel like my integrity is being damaged by my church membership,  then I will need to think about how to keep my testimony. I will go in with eyes wide open. But because I know there is that danger, then I need to do everything in my power to keep this a good church.

Last week that meant signing a petition against the choir performing, and writing on the choir's page, and calling the public relations department and leaving a message there, and sharing that contact information. In a couple of weeks it might involved introducing other liberal members to each other so they can feel fellowship with each other. We feel our way along. Today it meant changing the blog post.

And I do end up doing a lot of it on instinct and feelings, but there is thinking, at every step. With it comes understanding, and confidence.

They can be very helpful.