Ambition

Ambition is the first of many ambiguous and grey topics we'll be covering. Ambition with the wrong goals and motives can be bad. Ambition, properly motivated, can be holy and consistent with God's calling. Jesus's disciples wanting to sit at the right&left of Jesus (Mark 10:35-45) didn't receive a simple rebuke from Jesus but a thoughtful response on the cost of that ambition.

The Complete Book of Everyday Christianity by Robert Banks and R. Paul Stevens is available online and it includes a good article on ambition. Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People by Keith W. Drury gives a checklist of when ambition might go wrong. (I haven't read the book and thus can't comment on the rest of it.)

1 Thess.4:11 helps us balance contentment and ambition.

For many Christians, especially in their "secular" work, the issue is often lack of ambition. The parable of the talents demands that we are good stewards of our lives and that will often require ambition to fulfill the dictates of stewardship.

Finally, ambition requires planning and planning is another ambiguous area. James 4:13-16 suggests selfish planning isn't good; we must surrender our plans to God. Luke 14:28-32 encourages us to plan. Proverbs 16:3 and 19:21 reiterates that all our plans are under God.