Climbing while Carrying Your Cross

In this episode, we explore the tension between ambition and discipleship. Jesus never called us to abandon excellence; He called us to carry our cross. The challenge isn't choosing between your career and your faith. It's learning to climb without forgetting what you're carrying.

If you're navigating the early years of your career and want to honor God in the workplace, this conversation will encourage you to pursue success with the right foundation.

In This Episode

• Why ambition isn't the enemy of your faith
• What Jesus meant by "take up your cross"
• How to pursue career growth without making success your identity
• Why your character matters more than your accomplishments
• How Christian leadership looks different from worldly leadership
• The danger of allowing promotions to become your source of worth
• How to measure success through the lens of faith

Key Takeaways

• Your identity is found in Christ—not your job title.
• Career success is a gift, but it was never meant to define you.
• The cross transforms the way you pursue ambition.
• Great leadership begins with serving others.
• Obedience to God is more valuable than impressive outcomes.
• The ultimate question isn't how high you climbed—it's who you became along the way.

Scripture Mentioned

• Luke 9:23 — "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me."
• Colossians 3:23 — "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord."
• Mark 10:43–45 — "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant."
• Philippians 2:3–8 — The humility of Christ as our model for leadership.

Memorable Quote

"The greatest tragedy isn't reaching the top of the ladder—it's getting there and realizing you forgot what you were carrying."

Subscribe for More

If you're a young Christian professional between the ages of 22–30 who wants to grow in your faith, lead with integrity, and pursue excellence without compromising your convictions, subscribe for weekly episodes on faith, work, leadership, purpose, spiritual growth, career development, and Christian living.

What is NextGen Kingdom Leaders?

Helping young Christian professionals grow in their work, leadership, and faith

Hey everyone, welcome to the NextGen
Kingdom Leaders podcast, where

we exist to help young Christian
professionals grow and thrive in

their work, leadership, and faith.

Today's episode, we're talking about
the idea of climbing the ladder and

carrying your cross, and how these
two things actually shouldn't be

in competition with one another.

Enjoy.

Everybody wants to climb.

We want the promotion, the
opportunity, the bigger paycheck,

the influence, the recognition.

And honestly, there's nothing
inherently wrong with that.

God created us to work, to create,
to lead, to steward our gifts well.

And the world says, climb the ladder.

Many of us have spent years
preparing to do exactly that.

But then Jesus comes along and
says something entirely different.

He says, take up your cross and follow me.

At first, those messages can
feel like they're in conflict.

Do I pursue my career?

Do I pursue Christ?

Do I chase excellence or do I deny myself?

And I think the answer is neither.

The challenge isn't
choosing one or the other.

It's learning to climb without
forgetting what you're carrying.

Because the cross changes
the way you climb.

The cross reminds you that your
identity isn't found in your title.

You're already loved, already
accepted, already secure in Christ.

The cross also reminds you
that success isn't ultimate.

Promotions are great, but
they make terrible saviors.

The cross reminds us that
leadership is about service.

In a culture obsessed with
getting ahead, Jesus invites us

to ask, how can I lift others up?

The cross reminds us that obedience
matters more than outcomes.

Sometimes following Jesus will mean
making decisions that don't maximize your

resume, but do honor your convictions.

Here's the reality.

One day, you'll probably get
opportunities you've prayed for.

You'll achieve goals you
once thought were impossible.

But the question won't simply
be how high did you climb?

The deeper question will be who
did you become on the way up?

Did success make you more
grateful or more entitled?

More dependent on God
or more self-sufficient?

More loving or more
consumed with yourself?

As young Christian professionals,
we're called to pursue excellence

with everything we have.

Work hard, lead well,
build meaningful things.

But as you climb, never
set down the cross.

Because the greatest tragedy isn't
reaching the top of the ladder.

It's getting there and realizing
you forgot what you were carrying.

Hey everyone, thanks for tuning
in to this week's episode.

We hope you found it encouraging,
inspiring, and challenging.

Uh, if you could leave a review or,
or share this podcast with somebody

that you think would really benefit
from the, from its message, that would

really, uh, bless us as we seek to,
to impact as many people as possible.

Uh, if you wanna learn more about
who we are, you can visit our

website, nextgenkingdomleaders.com,

or visit our Substack, Next Gen Kingdom
Leaders, for more weekly content.

We'll be back next week with another
short, practical, digestible, uh, podcast.

Have a great weekend.