What does it cost us when we do not follow Jesus?

It costs us peace. It costs us joy. It costs us freedom. It costs us the life we were meant to live.

But it doesn’t stop there. Non-discipleship costs our families. It costs our communities. It costs the church. It even costs the world. When we neglect discipleship—when we choose comfort over obedience—we not only forfeit the abundant life Christ offers, but we also rob the world of the witness it desperately needs.

Jesus said, “What good is it to gain the whole world and forfeit your soul?” (Luke 9:25). Most people never make that trade on purpose. Instead, they drift—one small compromise at a time—until they wake up realizing they've lost what matters most.

This book is not just a warning. It is a vision. A vision for what we lose when we settle for a casual, cultural Christianity. A vision for what we gain when we answer Jesus’ call, “Follow me.”

The stakes are high. Eternity is at stake. But so is your present life—your peace, your purpose, your joy. The question this book asks is simple:

What is the true cost of not following Jesus?

And are you willing to pay it?

Only when we come to truly believe, deep down in our bones, that God is good—and not just good in theory but good to me—will we ever be willing to lay down everything. Until then, discipleship feels like a gamble. Giving up control, submitting our will, trusting Him with our future—it all sounds too risky if we aren’t sure of His goodness. But once our hearts grasp that God is not only holy and just, but also tender and kind, that He knows the way to life and longs to lead us into it, the equation changes. We stop calculating the cost of obedience and begin counting the rewards of trust.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God—and that faith includes believing He is and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. This is the turning point. We must come to believe that following Jesus is not just the right thing to do; it is the smartest thing to do. It is always in our best interest. His commands aren’t designed to stifle our joy but to multiply it. His discipline is not cruelty but love. The cost of discipleship may be high, but the cost of non-discipleship is far higher: anxiety instead of peace, aimlessness instead of purpose, isolation instead of community, regret instead of reward.

Everything God asks us to do correlates with happiness. Nothing God asks us to do makes us less happy. Obedience paves the way to happiness. God asks us to be grateful, and grateful people are happier. We are encouraged to read our Bibles, and people who do are happier. We are asked to pray, and we find that people who pray are happier. We are asked to witness, and people who witness are happier.[1]

It’s only when we see this clearly that we’ll finally stop hedging our bets with God. Only then will we be able to say, not just with our lips but with our lives, “I surrender all.” Until that belief sinks into our hearts—that God is good, and following Him is good—we will always be tempted to hold something back. But once we’re convinced of His character and His promises, surrender becomes the only reasonable response. Faith becomes joy, and obedience becomes delight. The disciple’s life may be narrow, but it leads to abundance. The cost is real—but the reward is better.