![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cross-300x200.jpg\")
Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash<\/p><\/div>\n
If I balk at submission, frown upon being asked to do something I don’t want to, or feel like I am hampered from affirming my rights and asserting myself, then I must also ask … where is the cross of Jesus in my thinking and in my life?<\/p>\n
For whatever I feel, whatever I like or don’t like, whatever sacrifices I must make or inconveniences I must suffer, I need to refocus on Jesus as He endured the cross for me, though He despised its shame. It wasn’t easy, convenient, or self-affirming for Him as He treated others as more important than Himself. And if He, being God, can do that, who am I to assert myself over others and act as though everyone ought to bow to my preferences?<\/p>\n
The cross is not the religion of the pursuit of personal desires and preferences. “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves<\/em>” (Philippians 2:3).<\/p>\n I have a choice to make today. I can take up the cross and follow Jesus, or I can reject the cross in favor of my own rights and desires. That has always been the choice.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Doy Moyer When I make it about how I feel, what I like or don’t like, how inconvenient things are to me, or how I shouldn’t have to do x, y, or z because it’s difficult, then I have to ask… where is the cross of Christ in a religion ordered after my preferences?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1363,182,188],"class_list":["post-37418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-selfishness","tag-suffering","tag-trials"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":96536,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-jesus-feel-shame\/","url_meta":{"origin":37418,"position":0},"title":"Did Jesus feel shame?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 9, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi brother Jeffrey, A friend of mine from our congregation wrote a short article in which he stated Jesus felt shame. He used Matthew 23:37-39, where Jesus laments over Jerusalem. He said Jesus was ashamed of Jerusalem. I don't believe this to be true. My friend also stated that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45045,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/everyone-worships-differently-but-does-it-matter-if-we-are-all-worshiping-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":37418,"position":1},"title":"Everyone worships differently, but does it matter if we are all worshiping Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have one question that concerns me: There are many Christian denominations or groups such as Orthodox, Protestantism, Catholic, Baptist, etc. Each one of those denominations or churches has its own practices and symbols. Ones who have the cross without Jesus, ones who have the cross with Jesus, ones\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94539,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/adding-to-the-finished-work-of-the-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":37418,"position":2},"title":"Adding to the Finished Work of the Cross?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Check out this statement: \"I don't have to do anything for His blood to cover my sin because I can't add to the finished or perfect work of the Cross.\" This idea of \"adding something\" to the \"finished work of Christ\" sounds appealing, and it has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":79298,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-crutch-of-self\/","url_meta":{"origin":37418,"position":3},"title":"The Crutch of Self","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer We sometimes hear unbelievers argue that religion is a crutch (something on which we heavily rely) or that we believe in God and the Bible because it just makes us feel good and thereby gives hope that is, to them, false. We are told that we believe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20659,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-did-jesus-mean-when-he-said-to-take-up-his-cross-daily-and-follow-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":37418,"position":4},"title":"What did Jesus mean when he said to take up his cross daily and follow him?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What did Jesus mean when he said to take up his cross daily and follow him?\u00a0 I know that in Luke 9:23 it also says to deny himself. Answer: There are a number of similar passages: \"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":511,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-about-the-thief-on-the-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":37418,"position":5},"title":"What about the thief on the cross?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 14, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am still a little confused about what I need to actually do. I heard about baptism, but they say that the thief on the cross wasn\u2019t baptized. Isn\u2019t he in heaven? Answer: I appreciate the time taken to ask questions concerning your salvation. Personally, I don\u2019t believe the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37418\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}