Question 1

When is ambition good?

Accepted Answer

Psalm 119:1-2Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those . . . who search for him with all their hearts.The purest ambition is to know God and to do what he asks.1 Thessalonians 4:11Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you.2 Peter 1:5-8In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of God and his Son. Ambition is good when it is directed toward growing the quality of our character, not toward the self-promotion of our accomplishments.Psalm 1:1-3They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.Isaiah 5:1-7“What more could I have done for my vineyard that I have not already done?”Luke 6:43-45“A tree is identified by its fruit . . . A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart.”A good ambition is to be productive in serving God. Just as a vibrant fruit tree produces good fruit, so we should produce “fruit” as we do the work God has given us. God’s people are to live in ways that bear the fruit of righteousness, justice, and obedience.Romans 15:20My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard.Like Paul, a great ambition is to tell others about Jesus wherever we go.1 Corinthians 12:31So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.1 Timothy 3:1This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be an elder, he desires an honorable position.”Desiring to serve God in the church is a good ambition.

Question 2

What kinds of ambitions are harmful?

Accepted Answer

Matthew 4:8-10“I will give it all to you,” he [Satan] said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”Matthew 16:24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”Ambitions are harmful when they cause us to sacrifice our faithfulness and devotion to God.Habakkuk 2:9, 12What sorrow awaits you who build big houses with money gained dishonestly! . . . What sorrow awaits you who build cities with money gained through murder and corruption!Ambitions are harmful when they work for wealth at the expense of other people’s welfare.James 4:2You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them.Ambitions are harmful when they are fueled by discontent and a desire for more. Such ambitions always result in harming others and dishonoring God with our life’s work. This never brings lasting satisfaction.

Question 3

When does ambition become dangerous?

Accepted Answer

Genesis 11:4Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”Ambition becomes wrong and dangerous when its goal is to bring glory to ourselves instead of God who gave us our talents and abilities.Matthew 4:9“I will give it all to you,” he [Satan] said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”Ambition can become destructive if Satan uses it to lure us away from God. We can test our ambitions by asking if what we want to do will lead us closer to or farther away from God. If we are not sure, then it is leading us away from him.Mark 10:35-45Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him . . . “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you.” . . . When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant.Selfish ambition inevitably undermines our friendships and service to God by making our activities into petty, competitive acts.Galatians 5:19-21When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are . . . hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.James 3:14-16If you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.Selfish ambition is dangerous because it leads to “disorder and evil of every kind.” This trouble arises from our sinful nature and can fuel not only our sinful behavior but also conflict with others. Selfish ambition cuts us off from the Holy Spirit, putting our agendas and self-gratification ahead of God’s will for us.Mark 8:34-36Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he [Jesus] said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?”Ambition is profoundly dangerous because it can cause us to “lose our own soul.” A great difference exists between wanting to be a part of God’s great work and wanting personal greatness through God’s work. It’s the difference between desiring to serve God and trying to use God to serve us. Ambition can fool us into striving to gain all we desire in this world at the cost of our rewards in heaven.

Question 4

How can I know when I’m acting out of “selfish ambition”?

Accepted Answer

1 Kings 8:58“May he give us the desire to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, decrees, and regulations that he gave our ancestors.”Psalm 26:2, 8, 11-12Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. . . . I love your sanctuary, Lord, the place where your glorious presence dwells. . . . But I am not like that; I live with integrity. So redeem me and show me mercy. Now I stand on solid ground, and I will publicly praise the Lord.Psalm 73:25Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.1 Corinthians 14:1Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives.2 Corinthians 10:13We will boast only about what has happened within the boundaries of the work God has given us.Our motives signal whether our actions are based on selfish or godly ambition. When our greatest desire is to do God’s will, when loving and serving others is our greatest goal, when we focus every day on praising and worshiping God, then we are pursuing the godly ambition of glorifying him.

Question 5

What kind of ambition does God want me to have?

Accepted Answer

Psalm 27:4The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.A strong, vital relationship with God is the highest ambition. This is something we can pursue without reservation.Matthew 5:6, 9“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. . . . God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.”Matthew 28:19-20“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, . . . Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.”1 Corinthians 14:1Let love be your highest goal!Being a loving person, working toward justice and peace in the world, and bringing people into fellowship with God are ambitions worthy of our time and energy. They all can leave an eternal impact.Romans 15:20My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.Paul demonstrated a “holy ambition” to do great things for God. A holy ambition is rooted in the will and service of God—a cause so large only God can fully accomplish it. But this cause can degenerate into a selfish pursuit unless it is continually re-aligned to God’s plan and energized by the Holy Spirit. Unholy ambition uses God to advance our own reputation and our own goals. Holy ambition, however, means we offer ourselves to be used by God to advance his reputation and cause.1 Thessalonians 4:11-12Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business . . . Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.A fundamental ambition or desire in life is to provide for ourselves so others will respect us as Christ’s followers and we will not be a burden to others.

Question 6

What are the right ways to pursue my ambitions?

Accepted Answer

Isaiah 58:13Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.We are to honor God in everything we undertake. Then he will honor us by helping us achieve accomplishments that really matter.1 Corinthians 9:26So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.Colossians 4:5Make the most of every opportunity.If we are going to achieve the goals that God has given us, we must be focused on him and use every opportunity he gives us to reach them.Matthew 23:11-12“The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”1 Corinthians 10:31So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.Colossians 3:17Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.Pursue godly ambitions with humility, for the glory of God.

Question 7

How do I guard against the wrong kind of ambition?

Accepted Answer

Philippians 2:3Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Priorities change when we concentrate on others instead of focusing on what they think of us. Rather than trying to impress others with ourselves, we can impress upon them their worth and value as individuals made in God’s image.Philippians 3:4-14I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. . . . I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. . . . I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. . . . I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.Selfish ambition fades as truth dawns. In reality, earthly achievements cannot compare with knowing Jesus Christ. In fact, they can get in the way, distracting us from depending fully on God. At the end of our lives, only what’s done for him will matter.