Focus: Ambition

Text: Gen.11:4

"Let us make us a name…"

It is good to make a name, but not at God's expense. The highest and purest ambition is seeking to align oneself with the loftiest name in the universe, and becoming the medium by which it is extended - the name of the most high God. In the high priestly prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ, He said to His Father, "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me… And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it…" (Jh.17:6,26). Jesus didn't come to make a name for Himself, but He came to unveil and spread the name of His Father. He says of Himself, "I am come in my Father's name…" (Jh.5:43). No wonder Paul declares, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name" (Phil.2:9). Abraham was not looking for a name, but God said to him, "I will make thy name great." God even changed his name and also surnamed Jacob.

God talking to Solomon, says, "If my people who are called by my name…" Aligning with God's name is the sure way of making a name for ourselves.

*Beware of ambition addiction

It is easy for one to become a slave of his own ambition. Ambition is a strong desire to achieve some degree of success and attain a position of significance and influence in life. Of the disciples of Christ, Mark reports, "By the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest" (Mk.9:34). They couldn't even wait to get home. Then James and John decided to make some moves to achieve their ambition. So they got their mother involved, who came to Jesus Christ, and said, "Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left, in thy kingdom" (Mt.20:21). Ambition at the expense of God is evil and dangerous.

*Best of ambitions

The best of ambitions is seeking the honor that comes from God. The Lord Jesus says, "How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God ONLY" (Jh.5:44). Jesus' sole ambition was to fulfill the Father's will. He was never in competition with anyone and never dreamed of doing or becoming better or greater than anyone. He was satisfied being and doing what His Father wanted. He says, "I do always those things that please him." He was comfortable with His personal identity and God-designed destiny, and was committed to being a person of integrity. John reports, "When Jesus perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone" (Jh.6:15). Were we Christ, we would have grabbed the opportunity and bowed our heads to obtain a man-made crown. But God has reserved in heaven for those content in doing His will and upholding His name an imperishable crown - crown that never fades.

Before we conclude, let's see Paul's ambition. He says, "This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize" (Phil.3:13,14). Again, He says, "That I might know him and the power of his resurrection…" (Phil.3:10). Paul's sole ambition was to fulfill his God-given vision and be in His good books.

Let's beware of ambition, especially, egocentric ambitions. Thomas Brooks rightly describes ambition as "a gilded misery, a secret poison, a hidden plague, the engineer of deceit, the mother of hypocrisy, the parent of envy, the original of vices, the moth of holiness, the blinder of hearts, turning medicines into maladies and remedies into diseases."

Constantly ask yourself, What do I stand to gain if I become greater than someone else in this world? What's my profit if I achieve the top place while the rest of the world goes down or meanders in the pool of mediocrity?

I pray you make God's vision for your life your sole ambition. Don't forget that God will reward us for our good works, not for our selfish ambitions. The only good thing about this life is the life to come. So if you live this life against the next life, you stand doomed forever. May God forbid it!

But if we truly want God to forbid it, then we have to forbid it ourselves, too.

Be ever conscious of this truth that humility exalts, and the best of ambitions is to seek the honor that God alone gives.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter