Life is Hard

I've started thinking that if my life is not hard, maybe I'm not doing something right. It's all over in the gospels - Jesus says that if you follow him, then people will hate you and if people hate you because of him, then you must be doing something right. He also calls us to take up our crosses, which is common knowledge in Christian circles, but how often is it practiced?

I'm as guilty as the next guy. There's a lot more I could be sacrificing for the cause. And I'm also guilty of the following:

Most of the time, we just explain the whole sacrificing thing away, saying that Jesus just meant that we have to be willing to do things like lose our lives, or sell everything and follow him. Well, OK, but that's not what he said. We don't really give up much because we have it in our hearts to do it - or at least we think we do. When it comes down to it, would you sell your house? Would you quit your job? Would you do things that might make people hate you? I don't know if I would or if I do.