day 800: Ambitions

“In lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself”

We all have some level of ambition. It would be hard for businesses or business professionals to be at their best without some level of ambition to work to our full potential. But ambition that crosses a line to something that places ourselves or our efforts and business above other people turns into something else that is not good. Ambition has to be constantly kept in check and balanced against values and principles that keep other people and their needs above our own. Even within a company we have to be careful that we don't let our ambitions get the best of us against our peers. It starts with each of us and how we lead, manage, or interact with those we work. Companies that can't keep their ambitions in check run the risk of becoming bullies in the market and at some point that catches up with them. We know who they are and aren't surprised when they get hung out to dry when they stumble. We are better off in not letting our ambitions get the best of us.

The late Pastor David Wilkerson's brother, Gary writes this about how we are to manage our personal ambitions: "One simple way to measure whether you love well is to examine how you look out for the interests of others. As a pastor, I have to forge an unwavering vision to do this. I am charged by God with a call to stir my people to action and to relentlessly pursue the mission he has given us. The truth is, I can go about this in one of two ways: through my own ambition, pushing to achieve my individual goals; or to adopt the heart of Christ and make my mission to love.
If my church grows to ten thousand and I don’t have love as my vision...if
our church sends out 1,000 missionaries but doesn’t have love…then we are
failing in our calling as a believing body. We are raising up false ambassadors
and exporting a weak brand of watered-down Christianity empowered by something
other than love.How about you? Are your prayers or spiritual ambitions locked in a world of your own wants, needs and desires? Are you bothered or irritated when others’
genuine needs interrupt your goals?What is the remedy for selfish ambition? Paul wrote to the Philippians, “In lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Philippians 2:3b). Paul doesn’t say not to esteem yourself, your vision or your life
mission. But he does say others also have vision, purpose and a mission. If you
will esteem them, you will not just be helping them but also strengthening them
in their calling—and perhaps affecting many lives. Think about the power of Paul’s statement. Imagine what might happen if every Christian radically obeyed this truth. We would all have deep, world-impacting interests in others—and none of us would be immersed in our individual goals. The whole body of Christ would be so other-centered we would empower one another in our many varied callings. If each of us is looking only to interests of our own making, our testimony will be limited at best. But if we all are looking in love to build up others, every God-ordained mission will have more than ample support to be accomplished.

Reference: Philippians 2:3

day 634: Quiet Ambition

"This should be your ambition; to live a quiet life, minding your own business...

There are many ways to derail a career but at least in legitimate ventures other than a complete lack of integrity, the most consistent way to kill a great career is to be outwardly and overly ambitious. When someones ambition becomes known and the person wears that ambition loudly and openly in full view of others something happens where few if any wants to help make those ambitions come true. Whether it is envy, resentment, or something else, there is not a lot of energy expelled by others to support someone who is overly ambitious. In fact, it is just the opposite. Those who have quiet ambitions and work on the behalf of helping others are the individuals who others want to help and push forward. Yet, we get in our head that we have to be loud, that we have to be boisterous, and that we have to let others always know what we want or we fear that we will get left behind or not recognized. This is likely our pride, our ego, and our insecurities all coming to bear at once. But, it is a killer and the overly ambitious can find themselves lonely and left behind.

Paul tells us that part of our ambition should be to be quiet in our life and keep our business to ourselves. What I hear Paul saying to me is that if my ambition is too strong and I am loud with my life then my ambition is not only wrong, but could be damaging to me and others. This is a strong word for us who are in this fast-moving and always changing world in which we work. The work world tells us to be "out there", to be self-promoting, to Facebook and Tweet ourselves into the lives of others, to publish ourselves, etc. Yet Paul counters this culture with asking us to reset our ambitions and to find a quiet way of living. It is a good challenge for all of us to check our ambitions, check our volume level, and to check our hearts as it relates to what is important in the larger scheme of things. Today, ask yourself where is your ambition and how loud of a life are you living? Too loud today?

Reference: 1 Thessalonians 4:11 (New Living Testament)