7th in the Seven Foundational Principles of Career Success.
The cross is a symbol of life and death to the Christian. Death because upon it the sacrifice for the remission was made and upon it the work of the flesh was defeated when He said it is finished.
When Jesus said we should carry our cross daily, it means taking a position that our life (self will, personal preferences and desire) is not as important as doing is will. It means we must dye to ourselves.
Apostle Paul puts it clearly in 2 Cor 4:10-11
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
Carrying our cross is giving up everything that the life of Jesus Christ, His godly character might be reflected through us.
For a Christian employee, it would suggest that;
1. We are not attached to any position of authority we might hold over others. It is just a privilege God has given us to use for His glory not to oppress others
2. You surrender your ambition to God and let Him lead
3. The fruit of the spirit is clearly evident in your life at your place of work.
4. Your thought at all times is “what would Jesus do if He was in my shoes?” It doesn’t just stop at the question but going ahead to do what is right according to God’s word whether it is convenient for you or not
5. You live absolutely for Him.
It takes a lot of dying to the flesh daily to get to a point where all the above become our lifestyle.
For us to do this, we must take up our crosses daily by taking the following steps;
1. Know the will of God. The will of God is contained in His word, we must study it to know what it is.
2. Surrender our will to God- We must realize that we are not on our own assignment but that of God and we must surrender all to Him. When Jesus Christ was going through the pain of bearing the sin of the world, it was such a huge responsibility that He thought of a way out but because He realized He wasn’t on assignment for Himself, He said not my will but yours be done. (Luke 22.42-43). You realize that after He surrendered, an Angel came to strengthen Him. It is when we first surrender our will to God that He comes to strengthen us. No matter what you are going through in the office, if you carry the cross (which indicates surrender) you will receive strength to go through it.
3. Set our eyes on the goal of our calling. There will be distractions and side attractions that may want to lure us into doing our own will, we must not take our eyes from the goal of the high calling of God. Like Paul, we must press forward toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God (Philippians 3:12-14)
4. Be ready to suffer for God. Things will not always be easy and it doesn’t mean that God has forsaken us. It is part of the journey. Matt 27:27-31, Phil 2:7-8. Your faithfulness to God in the workplace will be tested and it will bring pains but know however that the suffering of the moment is incomparable to the glory that shall be revealed, so stay strong through it.
God bless you.
Akindele Afolabi
Christian Employee Series.