I enjoy the story told by Chuck Colson about Jack Eckerd. Eckerd had a life-transforming conversion to Jesus Christ. He was not merely born again; he became a full and ardent follower of Christ. Mr. Eckerd owned a chain of drug stores and one day as he was walking through one of his stores past the magazine rack, he noticed something that convicted him to his bones—pornography.

That day Mr. Eckerd went to his office called in the president of his company and informed him that every one of his stores needed to pull the two pornographic magazines they sold. The president of his company was stunned; he couldn’t believe that Mr. Eckerd was serious. But Mr. Eckerd was serious. Even when he was informed that his stores earned $3 million a year on the sale of the material, he did not stumble nor was he detoured from his resolve. "Take them out of my stores," he declared.

Mr. Eckerd did not stop there, he went on to convince many of his competitors to do the same, resulting in 11,000 retail store across America becoming pornography free.

Way back in 1979, Christopher Lasch wrote a book titled “The Culture of Narcissism.” His point was clear; our narcissistic society perpetually feeds its appetite for self-satisfaction. His study was, we are indulgent with ourselves and indifferent toward others. We rarely deny much less sacrifice ourselves. In 1979, Lasch’s book was a best-seller; doubtful that his book would strike the same chord today.  

I have noticed that when called upon by the Lord to obey His will, three things occur that help me not to be indulgent or indifferent.  

1. SACRIFICE IS INVOLVED
When Jesus called His disciples, they were called away from their vocations. They were called to lose their life and to give up trying to gain what the world deems important. There is sacrifice involved, a giving up of what the world values and an embracing of what God values—life (Luke 9:23-25).

2.  IMMEDIATE RESPONSE IS NECESSARY
The most difficult part of following Christ is immediacy. I have discovered that delay in obedience leads me to deceive my heart into believing the request was not that important. When God speaks or leads us a certain direction and we delay, we remove the sacred aspect of the request. We reduce His leading to the same level as a mere human impulse. When the disciples were called, they left their money on the table and their boats in the water “immediately,” (a word Mark’s Gospel is especially fond of using).
 
3.  OTHERS ARE DEEPLY AFFECTED
It is rare that God is obeyed and others are not affected. It is amazing how much power and passion a holy, loving conviction possesses. It is not that the effect is the goal; faith obedience is, but a heart that responds to God often finds that its effects are multiplied in the action.  

To imagine a life lived apart from sacrifice is to imagine a life that will not be devoted to following the Lord. He challenges us and calls us and asks of us sacrifices because He does not build wimps, He does not value passivity. He refuses to encourage self-centeredness and He is determined to grow a life that is vibrant, alive, strong and filled with Holy Spirit-endowed blessing; in other words, a life that is neither indulgent nor indifferent.   

If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?  Luke 9:23-25 NLT