When Obedience Costs More Than Disobedience: Counting the Real Price of Following Christ

by John Hill, Editor & CEO

Introduction: The Uncomfortable Truth About Obedience

There is a subtle assumption many believers carry—often unspoken—that obedience to God will ultimately make life easier. While obedience brings peace, purpose, and eternal reward, Scripture never promises it will always bring comfort, convenience, or immediate relief. In fact, there are moments when obedience costs more than disobedience, at least in the short term.

Jesus never hid this reality. He did not call disciples with the promise of ease, but with the call to surrender. “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23, KJV). That call still stands—and it still costs.

The Illusion of Cheap Obedience

Disobedience often appears cheaper at first. It avoids conflict. It preserves comfort. It delays sacrifice. Obedience, on the other hand, can demand immediate loss—relationships strained, opportunities forfeited, reputations questioned, and desires denied.

Moses understood this cost. Scripture tells us he chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:25). The pleasures of disobedience were real—but temporary. Obedience required suffering, but it aligned him with God’s eternal purposes.

The danger for believers is not open rebellion, but rationalized compromise—choosing what is easier while convincing ourselves God understands. Yet obedience delayed or diluted is still disobedience.

When Obedience Brings Loss

There are seasons when obedience leads not to applause, but to loss.

• Speaking truth may cost approval.

• Refusing sin may cost advancement.

• Standing firm may cost relationships.

• Remaining faithful may cost comfort.

The apostles experienced this reality firsthand. After being beaten for preaching Christ, they rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41). Their obedience did not shield them from pain—it placed them directly in its path.

Jesus Himself is the ultimate example. Perfect obedience led Him not to exemption, but to the cross. “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). If obedience cost the Son of God suffering, why do we expect it to cost us nothing?

Counting the Cost Before We Choose

Jesus warned His followers to count the cost. “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost?” (Luke 14:28). Following Christ is not an emotional impulse; it is a lifelong commitment.

Too many begin well but retreat when obedience becomes expensive. They start building, but stop halfway—spiritually unfinished lives that never fully surrender. Christ is not seeking admirers, but followers. Not casual agreement, but costly allegiance.

Counting the cost does not mean fearing obedience; it means understanding its weight and choosing Christ anyway.

The Greater Cost of Disobedience

While obedience may cost more now, disobedience always costs more in the end.

Disobedience costs:

• Fellowship with God

• Peace of conscience

• Spiritual growth

• Testimony before others

Jonah avoided obedience and boarded a ship going the opposite direction. His disobedience seemed easier—until the storm came. Delayed obedience multiplied suffering, not spared it.

Scripture is clear: “The way of transgressors is hard” (Proverbs 13:15). Disobedience never delivers what it promises. What seems like relief today often becomes regret tomorrow.

Obedience Shapes the Soul

God often uses costly obedience to shape us more deeply than comfortable faith ever could. Obedience develops trust, humility, perseverance, and spiritual maturity.

Abraham obeyed God by placing Isaac on the altar—an act that made no sense emotionally or logically. Yet through obedience, Abraham learned that God is faithful even when the command is painful. “Now I know that thou fearest God” (Genesis 22:12).

Obedience refines faith. It moves belief from theory into lived reality. It teaches us that God is enough when everything else is stripped away.

Christ’s Promise to the Obedient

Jesus never promised ease, but He did promise reward. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). Obedience may cost us the world’s approval, but it secures heaven’s commendation.

Paul, near the end of his life, could say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). That testimony did not come from comfort, but from costly obedience sustained over time.

God does not overlook faithfulness. Every sacrifice made in obedience is known to Him. “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love” (Hebrews 6:10).

A Pastoral Word of Encouragement

If you are in a season where obedience feels heavy, you are not alone—and you are not failing. You are being formed. God often does His deepest work when obedience feels hardest. Do not measure obedience by immediate outcomes. Measure it by faithfulness. Trust that what God asks of you is never meant to destroy you, but to conform you to Christ.

“In due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).

Conclusion: Choosing the Better Cost

Every life pays a cost. We either pay the cost of obedience or the greater cost of disobedience. One leads to eternal life; the other to lasting regret.

When obedience costs more than disobedience, choose obedience anyway. Choose Christ. Choose faithfulness. Choose the path that leads not to ease, but to eternal glory.

For in the end, obedience may be costly—but Christ is worth the cost.