Ambition at the Expense of Others

Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.

–Mark 10:43–44

When a goal takes God’s place in our lives, that ambition is wrong. Ambition is also wrong when it comes at the expense of other people. In Mark 10, James and John, two of Jesus’s disciples, came to Jesus and said, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory” (v. 37). You have to admire them for their long-range planning–they were already thinking about heaven. The only problem is they thought the way to climb to the top was on the backs of the other disciples. Naturally, the other disciples began to grumble, so Jesus quickly called a staff meeting. He said, “Those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all” (vv. 42–44).

If you really want to be great, you have to learn to be a servant. You have to be willing to forfeit your rights for the well-being of other people. You don’t have to destroy your competition to be great in this world or in the kingdom of God. Ambition is wrong when it comes at the expense of other people.

Finally, ambition is wrong when it fails to allow for God’s sovereignty. God never discourages goal setting, but He does say we need to submit our plans to His plans. James 4:13–16 says, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’ But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”

There’s nothing wrong with saying, “I think we’ll expand our business and open another branch.” But you need to preface that plan with the phrase “If God wills.” That’s not just a trite expression you say before forging ahead with your own plans; it’s an attitude that understands that God has the final say over your plans. Ambition is wrong when it doesn’t allow for God’s sovereignty.

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Today’s devotion is adapted from “Declarations of Independence” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2009.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.