Odd, isn't it, since Jesus himself, from a human perspective, is pure loser. His family misunderstands him and is even embarrassed by his supposed insanity. His closest friends desert him. He is executed alongside criminals, and the site of the execution is the city garbage dump. He tells his followers that they can expect as much themselves.
Discipleship is costly in any era.
Recently I learned of a young man who was selected for a management training program in a major Canadian corporation. Very quickly he learned that the other management trainees expected him to accompany them in their after-hours drinking escapades. He told them he didn't want to do this every evening. They invited him to their favourite strip-tease show. He told them he preferred to go home to his wife.