When we were kids we were often asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The typical answer back ‘then’ was – cowboy, policeman, teacher or fireman.
Today though, you just might find – pro gamer, YouTube streamer, or professional cuddler – at the top of that list.
Times have changed but kids today still have ambitions. One 2nd-grade class was given an assignment of drawing a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up. One girl drew a picture of what appeared to be her mom dancing beside a pole with people holding out money for her. She wrote: “When I grow up I want to be just like mommy!” You can imagine what the teacher must have thought.
The next day the students’ mother sent this note to the teacher: “Dear Miss Jones, I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer. I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out of every single snow shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room which several people were fighting over. Her picture isn’t me dancing around a pole. It’s me selling the last snow shovel we had. From now on I will remember to check her homework.”
The Apostle Paul urged believers about having a holy ambition. In other words – make your life count for God. But truly there is also a dark side to ambition. Webster’s dictionary defines it as “an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power.” And if you check out self-help books written about ambition you come up with titles like: Looking Out for Number One, Every Man is a King, and The Subtle Art of not Giving a F*ck. That’s the world’s idea of ambition.
Paul wrote in Philippians that we should do nothing out of selfish ambition. The Message translation put it this way: “Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet- talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.” It’s a holy ambition to want to work toward making a difference in our world.
But it’s often challenging to get this message across to our younger generation!
There’s a hilarious story about a young college student who was being interviewed for his first job. The interviewer asked, “So what kind of salary are you looking to make?” The college grad replied, “Oh, somewhere around $150,000 a year.” The interviewer said, “And how about six weeks paid vacation, full medical & dental plus a new car leased for you every year?” The college grad said, “Are you kidding me?” The interviewer replied, “Of course I’m kidding you — but you started it.”
If your ambition is to get rich just for the sake of having riches, that’s not a holy ambition. If your ambition is to become famous just so people will know your name, that’s not a holy ambition. But when your ambition is to please God and advance His kingdom, He can use the rich and famous!!
It’s said that Alexander the Great was not satisfied, even when he had subdued the nations of the known world. He wept because there were no more worlds to conquer. Alexander died at an early age in a state of debauchery, depravity, and wantonness.
Hannibal, who filled three bushels with the gold rings taken from the knights he had slaughtered, committed suicide by swallowing poison. Few noted his death, and he left this world completely unmourned. Both very sad with pitiful and tragic ambitions!
We’ve said it before but this amazing little verse deserves another look. Psalm 127:1 reminds us: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” Simply stated – commit your plans to God! Commit your finances to God. Commit your ambitions to God!
Doug Fields gives us a great perspective on all this: “I am not suggesting you shouldn’t work hard, but I am suggesting that if you are defining your value by the chase – by your ambition, your work, and your achievement – then you are simply chasing after the wind, and ultimately it is meaningless.”
Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCitychurch.org
