the cross in our lives (pun intended)

in the past week, something has been on my mind. and it seems like it is resurfacing more often in the people around me.

we have been assimilated into a meritocratic society where achievements and education is valued far above other things. when we were in school, EM3 was the place your parents would advise you to stay away from. people in there seemed to be cursed with a ruined future. normal technical was the same in secondary school. after the sweet 16 year, JC was the preferred route to greater career prospects because of the invisible bridge to the universities. and how can i forget the "upper class" professions every parent dreams for their kid to be accepted into? the doctors, lawyers, dentists...

after spending almost 20 years in such an education system, why am i not surprised that people hold on to their achievements so tightly?

God doesn't fit into our lifestyle. we have got to fit into His will. something to think about: how much do you stand to lose if God calls you to give up everything you have right now? have we been storing up too much treasures on earth?

i have been having a couple of conversations with different people lately. different people who have achieved different levels of success. one thing i find most evident is that people struggle with the reluctance to let go of whatever they have accumulated over the years. may it be a high-flying-high-prospects job, comfortable take-home pay, family life, covenient life filled with the 5Cs... they have so much to lose. they have so much to surrender. they have so much to answer to.

and most of these people have the longing to follow the direction God has shown them. they are faithful servants who long to abide in the Master, but somewhere in them, there is the struggle, born from the notion that has been ingrained in us from young: we must attain success.

referring to the question alvin asked in his blog, How do you not end up trying to serve both God and Money? Is a rich, wealthy Christian an oxymoron? Is a Christian aspiring towards wealth & being the top in his/her field a hypocrite?, i do not disagree that God has bless His people richly (some with wealth, others in different ways). being a rich Christian can be God's way of providing for those in need. that's where miraculous testimonies of God's providence stem from too.

with that said, we can be earning loads of money but defying God's wishes. and on the other hand, we can be denying God's power by not trusting in Him to help us fulfil our fullest potential. at the end of the day, i think it is most vital to ask ourselves one question: where is it God wants me to be?