Ambition

Ambition

MY QUESTION for GOD

When is ambition dangerous?

A MOMENT with GOD

The devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he 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 4:8-10

There’s a difference 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 yourself. We can learn from the fact that Satan believed he could tempt Jesus by appealing to his sense of ambition. How many people have sold their souls to the devil in an attempt to gain worldly glory? When left unchecked, selfish ambition becomes the hook Satan uses to catch us and reel us in. If Jesus had been motivated by selfish ambition rather than the will and Word of God, he would have been vulnerable to the temptation to possess the kingdoms and splendor of the world. If you made a list of your five primary ambitions, what would they be? If others were to list what they believe are your five main ambitions, would they match your list? Ambition can become destructive if Satan uses it to lure you away from God. You can test your ambitions by asking yourself if they lead you closer to or farther away from God. If you’re not sure about one, then it is leading you away from him. Ambition can fool you into striving after everything you desire in this world at the cost of everything God desires for you in the next.

DIVINE PROMISE

WHEN YOU FOLLOW THE DESIRES OF YOUR SINFUL NATURE, THE RESULTS ARE VERY CLEAR: . . . HOSTILITY, QUARRELING, JEALOUSY, OUTBURSTS OF ANGER, SELFISH AMBITION, DISSENSION, DIVISION, ENVY . . . AND OTHER SINS LIKE THESE. . . . BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT PRODUCES THIS KIND OF FRUIT IN OUR LIVES: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL.   Galatians 5:19-23