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Sermon application 2: changing the way we think - "radical" discipleship

This continues my (much delayed!) series on sermon application.
When thinking of application, I first think of how I want to think different. We all have habits, attitudes, and ways of thinking that are ungodly and un-Biblical. This is not because we're all dirty rotten sinners who deliberately suppress the truth (although we once were exactly that: Romans 1:18). It's just 'normal' to think like that. Everybody does it, it's taken for granted.
Of course I have to tell lies for my boss. How else do you expect me to keep my job? What, do you want me to get fired or something? How will I feed my kids, then? And pay the mortgage on the house? And of course I have to buy the latest flatscreen TV. Everyone else has one. And the kids are pestering me for one so they can play their latest games on it. Which I had to get for them coz all their friends have it, and I can't make them miss out, can I? And of course I need new clothes for this season. How else will I keep up with the fashion? What do you want me to do, join the Amish?
Hmmm.
I suspect most of us - I include myself here - know perfectly well what God wants from us. We just think it's unrealistic, because we're used to thinking in worldly ways, not Godly, Biblical ways. So in our heart of hearts we say to God "yes, I know that's how you want me to live. But I know better. The realistic thing to do is..." and then we justify ourselves.
That's what Peter did to Jesus. When Jesus started to explain what it meant for him to be the Christ - that he would suffer, die, and rise - Peter rebuked him. No, no, Jesus, that's not how you become king. Kings kill their enemies, they don't die for their enemies. And that, of course, earned Peter a famous rebuke from Jesus (Matt 16; Mark 8; Luke 9).
For most of us, this self-justification isn't obvious. It's buried deep in our taken-for-granted way of thinking & operating. So it's our job as preachers to identify our the ungodly patterns of thought that our congregation are in danger of, and challenge them. If we worship the one who is truth incarnate (John 14:6), we must be people of truth. It's more important to be honest at work than keep the job. If your boss will fire you for telling the truth, he's not a boss worth working for. Your example of honesty and integrity is more important to your children than the latest toys, even your house. Jesus didn't have a place to lay his head, remember? We say we have faith in Jesus - do we actually believe he'll look after us if we take a stand for truth? Or is it just lip-faith, not life-faith?
I trust you can see that by calling this "changing the way we think", I do not mean intellectualism. I mean the opposite. Calling people to think different is a call to radical discipleship - following Jesus to the root, the radius (Latin) of our whole selves.
Preaching like this is going to be really difficult, for two reasons. First, I expect we'll get criticised for being radical & unrealistic. We'll just have to deal with that, gently. Secondly, and more profoundly, it means we preachers have to live this radical counter-cultural discipleship ourselves first, as an example. Maybe we could start by ditching the fantasy that ministry is a nice, safe career, where everyone will respect us and stroke our egos.
Thoughts, anyone...?
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