The Enemy of Ambition

I have been reading the book Rescuing Ambition, by Dave Harvey. The first chapter deals with seeking glory and how God hardwired us to seek glory. How athletes will train their whole lives to participate in the Olympics. They seek glory; we all seek glory in our own ways. He states, “Try to wrap your brain around this: God doesn’t oppose glory-seeking; he commends it. And what’s more astounding, he rewards it with eternal life. But there’s a condition. We must seek a certain type of glory. We’re to hunger, brave, earnestly desire-to be ambitious for – glory that comes from God.” 

When I think of God desiring me to seek glory, or even being ambitious, I might turn around and discount it, as being self-seeking, looking for applause or become discouraged. Ambition can be hard at times, it can drive us to do things were not proud of, or even run after it more than we pursue God. Harvey states, “Ambition is willing to pay more than full price if that’s what it takes… we always pursue what we prize.” “There are always things we might value, things we can make an effort to obtain. But ambition isn’t just being “in the market” for something. Ambition is prizing something so much that we go after it; willing to sacrifice to get it. The value I personally assign to it creates motivation and moves me to take action to obtain it.”

After reading the last few statements, I had to ask, I am really ambitious about anything? To be honest, yes I am. Most would say I am laid back, don’t get worked up over anything, and even- keeled. I would disagree, I do get upset, excited, and even overly ambitious about things, people, and places, but I don’t always show it outwardly. Then the thought came to me about the true enemy of ambition is in my life, discouragement. Think to yourself for a moment, have you ever been ambitious for something or someone, worked at it, pursued it, just to be let down. After a time you just settle for life as it is. You become numb to the thought of pursuing anything, anymore. What is the use putting all the effort into it, just to fail? This brought me to an insight about myself, one I am not proud of. I am ambitious for a lot of things, but I settle for a safe place, a safe ambition, one that doesn’t cause me to step out, but stay comfortably close to an ambition that doesn’t cause much risk in my life. I tend to work on things I am ambitious about that don’t involve others. What I mean is, something I can do on my own, and if I fail, no one knows about it, or something I won’t be rejected by others opinions I think are valuable. It’s one thing to be ambitious about something; it’s another to be ambitious about someone. Things don’t reject us, or ridicule us, or even judge us, but people do, don’t they? So we stay in a safe harbor when it comes to being ambitious. Or we may venture out in the unknown land of ambition that involves people, but only when we know they approve of it ahead of time.

When we look at the things we don’t pursue with our ambition, is it something we think will never happen, and give in before we even try? Has discouragement, past failures, or fear of suffering pain caused you to numb out your ambition? I think the real enemy of ambition isn’t always pride, but discouragement. The weapon of the enemy, a quite, reserved weapon that causes much destruction, not a destruction that can be seen like a town that has been bombed. But a quite destruction that no one sees, but causes death to those involved, a death that destroys the heart and soul of the person. When discouragement settles in the heart of the believer, it secretly, slowly, and intentionally whispers, “Why try.” And we slowly, reserve ourselves for an ambition that is small, and doesn’t risk much in our lives. We settle for mediocrity, instead of faith, we settle for what we can have without much effort, instead of risking, we settle for hidden love, instead of expressing it outwardly. What about you? What are you ambitious for, what have you put in a dusky closet of your heart because you don’t expect God to act? What is God calling you to be ambitious for in your life today? Or will you settle, settle for the lies of the enemy who plants the seeds of discouragement in your heart, which has reaped a vineyard of disappointment? What seeds will you plant today, the fruits of disappointment, or the ambition that glorifies God?