Nepotism in the Church

Jesus lays down some serious and sobering requirements for any who would be His disciple. Most people don't pay any attention to His words in this text or elsewhere. They suppose that being a Christian is an easy thing, and in some places, even a popular thing. The truth is that Jesus commands a loyalty that brooks no competition. You can only have one Master. It is impossible to serve two. To be a disciple of Jesus, which is the same as to be a born-again Christian, is to have Jesus as your ONE Master. Your Master is the one you obey. If two persons are on each side of you, one demanding this and the other demanding that, your Master is the one you obey. That's where family becomes a problem for so many. Family patriotism, a form of nepotism, wherein we favor our family's wishes above Christ's, is what keeps many professing Christians from being actual Christians. They want to have their cake and eat it, too. They want to pretend they are serving Christ as their One Master, when often they serve and grovel before the demands of some lost family member. Jesus says, "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple."