Luke 14:25-35 - The Cost Of Discipleship
25 Now large crowds were following Jesus and He turned [around] and said to them, 26 "If anyone comes to me [i.e., to be my disciple], and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers and sisters and, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 [And] whoever does not carry his own cross [i.e., his responsibilities with all their difficulties] and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 For which one of you who wants to build a [lookout] tower will not first sit down and calculate its cost, to see whether he has enough [money and materiel] to complete it? 29 For if he does not, maybe after he has laid the foundation and [then] is not able to complete [the tower], everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This man began to build [a tower] but was not able to finish it.'
31 Or what king, planning to engage another king in war, will not first sit down and evaluate whether he will be able, with ten thousand [soldiers], to defeat someone who attacks him with twenty thousand [soldiers]? 32 Or maybe, while the enemy is still a long way off, he will send representatives to ask for peace terms. 33 So therefore, every one of you who does not say 'goodbye' to everything he owns, cannot be my disciple.
34 Therefore salt is good, but if it loses its flavoring [ability], how will it ever get it back again? 35 It is not suitable for the soil [i.e., for growing crops] or for fertilizer, but [only] for people to throw out. [See note on Matt. 5:13]. The person who has ears to hear with ought to listen [to this] carefully."