Is Ambition Bad?

"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit,if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Philippians 2: 1-4

One major thing that sets Christianity apart from other religions is that it is not about self. Jesus came to serve and sacrifice for us. He taught us how to serve and do for others as well.

Being ambitious is not necessarily a bad thing, especially when you are following through on something God has called you to do. As we do what we've been called, we need to keep our priorities in check. I know I have struggled with this in book sales. I published that first book, because I knew God called me to. When it wasn't selling, I got upset at first. I had no business being upset. I followed through on what God called me to do, however, I didn't do some of the major things I should have. The first one is that I didn't do it when He told me to. The second is that I didn't have a launch team backing me up.

Some of my "internet friends" have done amazing things. Remember David Mike that I featured last week with his book release "Dishonor"? He ended up on the Amazon top 100 list that day! Yesterday morning, I had an email from Amazon suggesting that I buy his book! I was so excited for him. Then, once I opened the email, his book was the first on the list, and our "mentor", if you will, Jon Acuff's book "Do Over" was one book away from David's. Talk about floored! I text him and showed him the screen shots. The thing about David is he didn't write that book for himself. He didn't write it for self ambition. He wrote it so he can help other people. If you've ever done something bad in your past, and you thing you can't be forgiven, he wants you to know you can. So, he's sharing his life story with the world.

We are called to love, serve, and honor others above ourselves. That's the part of Christianity that some do not understand. We lead people to Christ through those things. We love them to Him. 

When you love someone who feels unlovable, or serve someone who doesn't feel like they deserve it, and honor those who have never felt honored, something amazing happens. Our ambitions to do those things should be pure and humble.

That's how God wants us to live.

God bless you today and always!