Selfish Ambition
"But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”—James 3:14-16
Can a Christian have ambition and still be godly? Our Lord said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”—Matthew 5:5. How can we have ambition and be meek? Our world is a dog-eat-dog world where only the tough survive. Those with ambition get ahead, while those without it are forced to serve those with it.
Many a church and ministry have been built up by ambitious men and women. But how does ambition work in the Christian life? How does one have ambition in our everyday pursuits and still be godly?
James wrote about ambition, but he didn’t say that all ambition was bad. On the contrary, he highlighted “bitter jealousy” and “selfish ambition” but how does one know whether or not their ambition is good and godly or selfish and sinful? It all depends upon the motive behind it as C.S. Lewis describes,
“Ambition! We must be careful what we mean by it. If it means the desire to get ahead of other people—which is what I think it does mean—that it is bad. If it means simply wanting to do a thing well, then it is good. It isn’t wrong for an actor to want to act his part as well as it can possibly be acted, but the wish to have his name in bigger type than the other actors is a bad one”—C.S. Lewis, “Answers to Questions on Christianity,” God in the Dock, p. 55-56
If our ambition is to do the best we possibly can because we want to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us, then it is good, but if our desire is to simply be better than those around us, then it is bad. We must be sure to evaluate our ambition according to Scripture. If we sense “bitter jealousy” of others and wanting to be better than them for the sake of our own recognition, then we must repent and ask God to help us. We must make sure that we are good stewards of everything He has entrusted to our care, all the while guarding against sin and self, and the contemporary idol of success. There is nothing wrong with success or ambition, provided they are seen in relationship to our stewardship.
We can have hopes and dreams, but they must be rooted in the person of Christ and what He has done on our behalf. If our ambition only exists to be better than others and receive unhealthy recognition for the sake of our pride, we must ask God to break us and show us Himself. Selfish ambition is deadly to the child of God, while selfless ambition enables not only our good, but the good of others. Then Christ’s name is exalted, not ours. Amen.
Can a Christian have ambition and still be godly? Our Lord said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”—Matthew 5:5. How can we have ambition and be meek? Our world is a dog-eat-dog world where only the tough survive. Those with ambition get ahead, while those without it are forced to serve those with it.
Many a church and ministry have been built up by ambitious men and women. But how does ambition work in the Christian life? How does one have ambition in our everyday pursuits and still be godly?
James wrote about ambition, but he didn’t say that all ambition was bad. On the contrary, he highlighted “bitter jealousy” and “selfish ambition” but how does one know whether or not their ambition is good and godly or selfish and sinful? It all depends upon the motive behind it as C.S. Lewis describes,
“Ambition! We must be careful what we mean by it. If it means the desire to get ahead of other people—which is what I think it does mean—that it is bad. If it means simply wanting to do a thing well, then it is good. It isn’t wrong for an actor to want to act his part as well as it can possibly be acted, but the wish to have his name in bigger type than the other actors is a bad one”—C.S. Lewis, “Answers to Questions on Christianity,” God in the Dock, p. 55-56
If our ambition is to do the best we possibly can because we want to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us, then it is good, but if our desire is to simply be better than those around us, then it is bad. We must be sure to evaluate our ambition according to Scripture. If we sense “bitter jealousy” of others and wanting to be better than them for the sake of our own recognition, then we must repent and ask God to help us. We must make sure that we are good stewards of everything He has entrusted to our care, all the while guarding against sin and self, and the contemporary idol of success. There is nothing wrong with success or ambition, provided they are seen in relationship to our stewardship.
We can have hopes and dreams, but they must be rooted in the person of Christ and what He has done on our behalf. If our ambition only exists to be better than others and receive unhealthy recognition for the sake of our pride, we must ask God to break us and show us Himself. Selfish ambition is deadly to the child of God, while selfless ambition enables not only our good, but the good of others. Then Christ’s name is exalted, not ours. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment