Pardon my weaponry

I was challenged in my quiet time this morning in Luke 9 where Jesus makes some pretty strong statements about following Him.
Most notably:
"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will find it."

It's not just the person who tries to save his life who will lose it, but simply the person who wishes to save his life.

Second strong statement:
"No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Not just going back... looking back
Mostly, what I was challenged by is that the war is in your mind. Wishing and looking are not real actions of rebellion, but Jesus identifies them here as being the same as rejecting Him. Pretty hard to grasp because I can often feel like there's nothing wrong with desiring things of the world, as long as I'm not pursuing them....