Honourable Ambitions

When I was a kid, I aspired to be a firefighter. I wanted to be big and strong and save the cat from the burning building. As children, we are told that we could be whatever we want to be, except my sister, who was told that she would be a sanitation worker. We encourage the dreams and aspirations our kids have, and it's almost praised. I'm not saying this as a bad thing; I say this to bring up this question. Why is it that it has almost become a sin within the church to aspire to get ahead in life and seek a higher position in our workplace? What has changed? Are we as parents lying to our kids when we say, "you can be a firefighter, cop, or a CEO of a large company".

The reason why I'm thinking of this topic is that recently I have struggled with this idea; am I only in my position because I was seeking greatness for myself. I have read several leadership books over the past few months, and most of them have said, seek those opportunities that help you move forward so that you can optimize your impact. I think this is great because then I can optimize my impact for God in what I put my hands to. But I have also read books by Christian authors that say aspiration is something that our human nature uses to boost our persona and status; aka don't do it. What is right, and what is wrong? I have never sought after leadership roles, they have always presented themselves to me, but I would be lying if I denied that a part of me likes being in leadership.

The aspiration to get ahead in life can be seen in two ways (in my mind): in the secular culture, if you're not aspiring to get ahead in life, you fall behind. Second, if you're aspiring to get ahead in the Christian culture, you are not humble enough and are seen seeking selfish ambitions. Again what is right and what is wrong. I want to optimize my impact on the gospel's work, but I don't want to do it for the wrong reasons. So I need to answer the question, what are my motives?

The calling of all believers is first to Love God (Matthew 22:37), and second, it is to make disciples (Matthew 28:19). Now I could use more scripture references, but the point I want to make is our motives need to be fueled out of our Love for God and His people.

Let me be honest with you; some days, I have had to check my motives at the door and sit and re-evaluate where I am and where God whats me to go. Some days I catch myself thinking, If I did this, people would look at me differently, or if I changed these numbers, people would see me as a spiritual warrior. Often times, our motives determine our actions, for the better or worse. I truly believe that God honours honourable motives. And if our motives are right, we will see the Lord work in mighty ways. I'm not saying that if your motives are honourable that God will honour you with a higher position. I'm saying that God honours our actions by bringing out His glory in what we put our hands to. Our motives should not seek to bring us glory but should seek to bring God glory.

I think that we can get that mixed up sometimes; I will call it the "look at me" syndrome. Sometimes we seek recognition for something that we did and we say, "Look at me." My five-year-old does this all the time, and it's not always bad. But again, what are our motives? How do we fight between the tension of seeking to aspire to leadership (1 Tim 3:1), honourable ambitions, and seeking to be humble and stay put, not being ambitious what so ever?

I don't have all the answers; I'm still working this one out. But what I do know and what I will be focusing on is daily asking myself the question, what are my motives? Because if my motives are honourable in the sight of God, then I have the joy of bringing out His glory in what I put my hands to. And if my motives are, self-seeking I pray I will be humble enough to stop and re-evaluate.

Tristan K