Ambition

Have you read Luke’s account of the Last Supper that Jesus shared with His disciples? Remember the part where they argued among themselves about who was the greatest among them? It looks pretty ridiculous to us, because we know that Jesus was about to face a horrifying experience by any standard, and all they are thinking about is themselves. Keep reading and you find that Jesus didn’t condemn them for their pride issue. Perhaps His mind was reeling at their blindness, but at the same time He realized that the sacrifice He was about to make would provide atonement for such things. How did he respond? He reminded them that greatness, in God’s economy, comes from a servant’s heart.

So let’s bring that home. Where are your relationships sitting right now? If you are struggling to find the win, can I just toss you a lifeline right now and encourage you to take heart… find hope… come up for air?  Take a look at what is driving you. It is entirely possible that you have lost all your ambition to make the life you always dreamed of because your investment, to date, has been about your dreams for yourself. Step back and look at how that would change if your heart’s desire was to build up your husband, rather than shutting him down… or out. Guys, what if your joy came from meeting her intimacy needs rather than your own?

Often times our relationships are crowded with our ambitions to have our own needs met. Relationships typically begin because we have a void and he or she fills that void… until they stop… for a vast variety of reasons. We struggle to know what love is, because we see it as the feeling we get when our needs are met. That has to be the all-time win in the field of deception. The Bible tells us that God is Love and since God is God, he has no “needs.” He is, in fact, the supplier of needs. Love, then, is active and full of selfless ambition. When we love as God loves, we present ourselves as a living sacrifice to be used by Him to fulfill His plan.

Let’s face it. We compare ourselves to others way too much. “I do way more around the house than he does.” “I have to plan everything.” “I am far more giving…”  That is the absolute wrong path to be traveling. When the disciples of Jesus began to compare and wonder who was the greatest, Jesus told them that the one who serves is the greatest. If your motive is to serve, do it in love… and burn your scorecard!

Make loving selflessly your greatest ambition. “For God so loved the world that He gave…”  Believe that the God who gave the ultimate gift is able to supply your needs and learn to love as He loves… not for your benefit, but for the benefit of others. “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice” (James 3:16). Not the “reward” I am looking for in this life. And I’m sure you don’t want to reap a harvest of disorder and evil, either.

Father, guide me down the path of servanthood and help me to kick selfish ambition out the door!