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Have you ever wanted something intensely and pursued it whole heatedly? If so, would you\u00a0say you were ambitious?<\/p>\nHave you ever wanted something intensely and pursued it whole heatedly? If so, would you\u00a0say you were ambitious?<\/p>\n
For the person of faith, the different between ambition and humble service\u00a0can be a fine line. Take the example of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14. They\u00a0healed a man at the temple who had been crippled from birth. The crowd reacted to the healing by going\u00a0crazy. They began to worship Paul and Barnabas as if they were Greek gods. Even after Paul and Barnabas\u00a0pointed the people to the true healer, God, the people could hardly restrain their worship of the two men. After intense\u00a0adulation, they could have made\u00a0a name for themselves as healers. They resisted because it would have glorified them, not God.<\/p>\n
Ambition is what drives most people. It’s not wrong to be ambitious, but you have to look at the heart motive. Is it directed to self, to be number one, or to be the one with the most toys? What is your goal?<\/p>\n
1 Thessalonians 4: 11 says, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands.” Philippians 2:3 adds,\u00a0\u201c<\/strong>Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.\u201d Ambition is directed at helping others, not self.\u00a0Be\u00a0honest about your heart motive. The wrong motive can leave you empty and always wanting more.<\/p>\n That said, even Jesus was tempted by ambition when in the wilderness. Satan took\u00a0him to a high mountain\u00a0and\u00a0had Jesus look at the kingdoms of the world. If Jesus was willing to worship Satan, he would give him all that he could see.\u00a0Satan, whose misplaced ambition resulted in an expulsion from heaven, continues to tempt us\u00a0towards the same.<\/p>\n Human ambition can co-exist\u00a0with godly character. But again, it is about motive and who you serve. When Paul was Saul, he was highly ambitious. He believed he was doing good by persecuting Christians. But God brought him to his senses. \u00a0He was not leading a religious crusade, rather a fight against God himself. After Paul’s conversion, his ambition for spreading the Gospel remained\u00a0strong. But his motive was different. He served God, not himself. He was mindful of community and God’s purposes. His ultimate ambition was to know Christ.<\/p>\n Can we say the same?<\/p>\n Ambition is not a dirty word. God has given us\u00a0abilities and desires for His service and pleasure. John Piper reminds us that “holy ambition” comes from God. It is about serving him to the best of your abilities. So, reflect on your motives. What are you pursuing and why? Is it to be\u00a0famous, make a name for yourself or\u00a0be successful? Or is your ambition directed to knowing God and\u00a0using everything he has given you for His purposes!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you ever wanted something intensely and pursued it whole heatedly? If so, would you\u00a0say you were ambitious? For the person of faith, the different between ambition and humble service\u00a0can be a fine line. Take the example of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14. They\u00a0healed a man at the temple who had been crippled from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[916],"tags":[4353,4354,2233,4355,4356],"class_list":["post-10628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-god-relationship","tag-ambition","tag-ambitious","tag-famous","tag-greed","tag-self-ambition"],"yoast_head":"\n