"it's no secret that a conscious can sometimes be a pest. no secret ambition bites the nails of success..." - U2, The Fly
I've been thinking a lot about ambition lately. Is it good? Is it bad?
Neutral maybe?
Paul writes, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit." Are we capable of ambition that is divorced from selfish beginnings and endings? How many of the great evils in our history were waged with the fuel of ambition? They all seem to come from it. That or fear.
Is there any room for ambition in the life of a disciple of Jesus? Should we aspire to things? For most of my life as a follower of Jesus I've been afraid of having too much ambition. It would be better not to get my heart too caught up in any enterprise. Better to make sure that I steered clear of any selfish pursuit. But maybe I've been wrong. Maybe there is room for a consuming passion. Maybe it requires ambition to get anything great accomplished. I want my life to count for something. And I think I'm going to crawl out of this old shell of fear. What is there to fear anyway? If God is for me who can be against me? Even if I crash and burn miserably, my consolation is God himself. Imagine that. So I think I'm going to take these dreams and allow God to add fuel to the fire. Who knows where it will take me, but I want it to be somewhere with a view.
3 comments:
I feel so motivated and energized. :) This sounds great. I wish I had anything deep to add to this... but alas, I haven't.
YES!
Do it.
I think ambition can be unselfish and very motivating. Go for it!
Pick up Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus. You won't be able to STOP yourself from chasing those ambitions.
I think ambition is a powerful gift - a tool that God gives us to get His work done.
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