The phrase “forsaking all others” might sound extreme at first. We hear it most often in traditional wedding vows, but its biblical meaning goes much deeper than marital faithfulness.
It’s about a radical reordering of priorities that places God at the absolute center of our lives. Let me be honest: this is one of the more challenging teachings in Scripture.
Jesus didn’t sugarcoat the cost of discipleship. He spoke plainly about leaving behind anything that competes with our devotion to Him, whether that’s relationships, possessions, ambitions, or even our own lives.
That’s uncomfortable to hear in a world that tells us we can have it all and balance everything perfectly. But here’s what I’ve come to understand after years of wrestling with these passages.
Forsaking all others doesn’t mean we stop loving people or caring about our responsibilities. It means we love them in the right order. When God holds the supreme place in our hearts, everything else falls into its proper alignment.
We actually become better spouses, parents, friends, and workers when we’re not asking those roles to give us what only God can provide.
Bible Verses About Forsaking All Others
- Luke 14:26
If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even their own life, such a person cannot be my disciple.
- Matthew 10:37
Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
- Luke 14:33
In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
- Mark 10:29-30
Truly I tell you, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields along with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life.
- Matthew 19:29
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
- Philippians 3:7-8
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.
- Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
- Luke 9:62
Jesus replied, No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.
- Matthew 4:19-20
Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people. At once they left their nets and followed him.
- Deuteronomy 6:5
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
- Matthew 10:38-39
Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
- Luke 18:22
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.
- 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
- Galatians 6:14
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
- Matthew 16:25
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.
- Luke 9:23
Then he said to them all: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
- Mark 8:35
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.
- Colossians 3:2
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
- 1 John 2:15
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.
- James 4:4
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
- Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
- Luke 14:27
And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
- 2 Corinthians 6:17
Therefore, come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.
- Romans 12:2
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will.
- Psalm 73:25
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
- Matthew 13:44
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
- Luke 5:11
So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
- Acts 4:19
But Peter and John replied, Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!
- Hebrews 11:24-26
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
- 1 Kings 18:21
Elijah went before the people and said, How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.
- Joshua 24:15
But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
- Revelation 3:15-16
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
- 2 Timothy 2:4
No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.
- Mark 12:30
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
- Exodus 20:3
You shall have no other gods before me.
Our Summary on What The Bible Says About Forsaking All Others
The consistent message throughout Scripture is clear: God demands first place. Not second place with good intentions. Not equal footing with our other priorities. First place, period.
What’s interesting is how often Jesus used economic language when talking about this. He spoke of selling everything, counting the cost, and recognizing that knowing Him is worth more than all earthly treasures combined. He wasn’t being metaphorical.
He meant that following Him might actually cost you relationships, comfort, security, and status. The early disciples understood this literally. They left their businesses, walked away from family obligations, and risked everything to follow a traveling rabbi from Nazareth.
Here’s where this gets practical for us today. Most of us won’t be called to physically abandon our families or sell all our possessions. But we’re all called to hold them loosely enough that we’d obey God even if it meant losing them.
That’s the heart of forsaking all others. It’s about ordering our loves correctly so that when God calls, nothing holds us back. I’ve watched people struggle with this teaching, and honestly, I’ve struggled with it myself.
We want to negotiate, to find a middle ground where we can keep God happy while also maintaining our grip on everything else we value. But Jesus doesn’t negotiate on this point. He’s not asking for a portion of our hearts.
He’s asking for all of it, trusting that when we give Him everything, He’ll return to us more than we ever sacrificed.
Say This Prayer for Forsaking All Others
Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that You deserve the highest place in my life. Forgive me for the times I’ve allowed other people, possessions, or pursuits to take Your throne. Today, I choose to forsake anything that competes with my devotion to You.
Help me love You with an undivided heart. Give me the courage to let go of whatever holds me back from following You fully. Teach me to hold loosely the things of this world while holding tightly to You. I want to be wholehearted in my commitment, not lukewarm or divided in my affections.
Thank You for being worthy of this kind of total surrender. Thank You for the promise that when I seek You first, everything else finds its proper place. I trust You with all that I am and all that I have. In Your name, Amen.