Where will my ambition lead me?

Kingdom truth and values differ from the world's teaching

When I stepped from darkness into light (1 Peter 2:9), into the realm that is called The Kingdom, I didn’t fully realize it would turn everything I knew and had learned in the past upside down and inside out. Everytime I read the Bible it keeps amazing me how Kingdom truth and values differ from what the world teaches. The other day I was thinking about ‘ambition’. I looked up that word in Webster’s and found the following: 'strong desire to succeed or to achieve something, as fame, power, wealth, etc.'

I believe that being ambitious is a good thing as it is often the result of passion and the drive for perseverance. The question we have to ask ourselves however is ‘where will my ambition lead me?’ It is so easy to be carried away and eventually find ourselves in places we do not want to be! Having a desire to succeed or to achieve certain goals is a healthy attitude, I don't think there is anything against such ambitions in God's word. The Bible does offer warnings against selfish ambitions though (in Galatians 5:20, Philippians 2:3 and James 3:14 for example). Selfish ambitions do not serve our fellow men or a bigger purpose and are therefore purely human, even egocentric. God wants us to direct our ambitions towards Kingdom building and advancement.

I found an interesting and helpful scripture in 1 Thessalonians 4:11, it says:

Make it your ambition
1. to lead a quiet life (avoid drama)
2. to mind your own business and (don’t meddle in other people’s affairs)
3. to work with your hands (be productive)

Now, that would not exactly match the average goal of a college student or young urban professional, right? As a student of God’s Word it should be my goal however.
The good thing about following godly ambition is that the rewards are awesome! The next verse says that our daily life may win the respect of outsiders and that we will not be dependent on anybody.
Sounds good to me!