Mark 15:21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.

Simon showed a moment of compassion and the Romans took full advantage of it by then forcing Simon to continue carrying the cross from that point onward.

The world does not care for us and will take full advantage of us when we do show compassion; it does not have scruples or compassion like we do!

The Romans did not care for his position in any church or how he was known in the church, they just used him. Don’t expect anything else from the world!

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Jesus did not talk literally of people giving themselves up to be hung on crosses just so they could get to heaven, but of giving up what was trapping them in this world.

Jesus can see what is holding us back, what is trapping us and what is going on in our lives; He wants us to be able to let go of all those desires which keep us from having a full and open relationship with Him.

When we can focus on Him rather than the world, we can live better for Him than give in to the world all the time!

Matthew 18:17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

And if all fails, then finally take it to the church – not public gossip, but the church body you trust!

Gossip breaks apart churches and communities. Re-telling things you have heard from others does nothing but spread gossip.

If you are not willing to do things according to God’s ways, then just being quiet is going to be your best option!