The impact of your life is less dependent on what you’re willing to do and more dependent on what you’re willing to not do.

To achieve something, it’s natural for us to first think of what we can do to make it happen.

But when Jesus talked about the kingdom of God, he didn’t talk about what we needed to be willing to do.

Instead, he talked about what we needed to be willing to not do.

He challenged the disciples to leave everything they had to follow him. 

When Jesus asked Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow him, it was immediately after they had just caught so many fish it was sinking their boat. (Luke 5:7)

Imagine having the best day of sales you’ve ever had at your business, and deciding to walk away from it altogether on the same day.

If you consider the immediate requirements of discipleship, there wasn’t much for them to do.

But being willing to stop pursuing their business was a much bigger deal.

What Jesus was asking them to give up made no logical sense at the time. 

Why would they give up the thing they had built – the thing he just blessed? Why give up their steady income?

We like to think that maybe Jesus would’ve played it safer. 

Our version of Jesus would’ve asked them to give their extra time to him when they weren’t fishing.

He would’ve asked them to be part-time fishermen, maybe. 

But he didn’t do that. He showed them what was possible, then he invited them to go all in.

In Luke 14, Jesus is talking about the value of counting the cost before you do something.

This parable has been used to justify playing it safe – to be as certain as you can before doing something. But that’s not exactly what Jesus was saying.

He basically says, wouldn’t it be dumb to endeavor to build a house or go to war without first thinking about what you’re going to have to give up in order to be successful? 

If you think you can go into either of those things without giving up a great deal, you’re not going to be prepared to see it through. 

Jesus ended that conversation by saying, “those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” (Luke 14:33)

That’s not a paraphrase. Go read it.

When a king decides to go to war, he’s also deciding to not focus on farming, harvesting, building towns, and improving infrastructure. 

By deciding to go to war, he’s giving up everything else. 

It’s a reckless endeavor, but one that must be committed to wholeheartedly. Anything short of that will end in failure.

We all have things that God has given us to do that require our full commitment. 

And it’s easy to say that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. 

But the more difficult question is:

What are you willing to not do? 

What are you willing to give up?

Your number one barrier is not your ability or inability. Your number one barrier is distraction. 

What’s so important in your life that it’s going to require the elimination of all distractions?

Because in order to fulfill your purpose, you’ll find that you have to be willing to give up your potential.