“But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. Matthew 16:23-27 NET https://bible.com/bible/107/mat.16.25.NET

When do we, as the people of God, become a problem for God? We are a burden to God, a hindrance to God when we set our interests upon things other than God’s interests. What is God’s interest? His kingdom upon earth as it is in heaven. This is the salvation and discipleship of the nations until every person acknowledges Jesus as Lord and obeys everything He has commanded. We hinder God because we ignore the Word He has graciously given us for doing His will. So few Christians read the Bible to know God and obey His commands. Without daily intake of God’s Word, we gravitate to daily pursuit of our pleasures and agenda. We seek to gain the world instead of seeking to win the world to Christ. If we are not denying ourselves to seek God and do His will, we are most likely pleasing ourselves by doing our will. Taking up our cross daily is dying daily to the gratification of our selfish nature to serve God by executing His will in the world, which is the reconciliation of all people to Jesus through the proclamation of the gospel to all people. We learn this gospel through His Word, which we must teach our children, share with our neighbor, live in the marketplace, and pray for effect upon the whole world. If we would be an asset to God and not a liability, we must diligently seek Him through His Word, then pray and work diligently for His kingdom to come and His will to be done upon earth as it is in heaven.