Ambition is a lot like milk. It starts out tasty but sours quickly. And, though it may appear white and pure on the outside, it gets nasty when it turns bad.
Ambitions sour. Good things inspire our dreams, and we act. But along the way our desires grow disordered. Though we have good ends in mind, the motivations of our heart or the means we use to achieve our dreams start producing sour results. The proof, we might say, is in the fruit.
In his letter to the churches of “the Dispersion,” James talks about such soured ambition. Bear in mind that he was writing to Christians. These weren’t people who started out hoping for disorder. He writes to people who had chosen to follow Christ at the potential loss of everything. In response to the gospel, and in the face of growing disapproval, they committed themselves to the church community. Godly ambition churned within them. Yet it went bad.
If you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and ever vile practice. (James 3:14–16)
What happened to their ambitions? They were corrupted. Where before they may have aimed for the good of the church, the growth of the kingdom, and the glory of God, now their hearts were anchored by a desire for personal gain. Rather than producing peace, their works brought discord and disorder. Instead of impartiality and sincerity, they worked to elevate and honor themselves. Self moved to the center of their desire.
James calls this kind of ambition earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. It’s earthly because it’s aimed at goals which have no lasting, eternal worth. It reflects a heart comparable to Demas, who left Paul and the faith because he fell in love with the present world (2 Timothy 4:10). It’s unspiritual because those sorts of desires are not the product of the Holy Spirit.
How can we know when our ambitions sour? Consider these three tests.
# 1 The Heart Test
The human heart has hidden recesses and depths of which we are frequently unaware. Though we set our aims on good goals, though our ambitions may be healthy, how quickly we can twist them and begin seeking selfish ends.
Beware of neglecting the necessary work of testing your heart. May we learn to pray with the psalmist, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23–24)
Leader, hold up your ambitions to God and his Word. Do they align with God’s purposes and aims for you and for the world?
# 2 The Fruit Test
The fruit the Spirit produces in people—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control—directly contradicts jealousy and selfish ambition (see Galatians 5:22–23). The opposite of these things is demonic fruit because it reflects the works and desires of Satan. Satan rejected his God-given purpose to be a servant of God and sought to usurp God’s throne. He treasured his own reputation and God threw him down from his exalted position. The fruit of this present world makes it clear that it was always about him.
What is your pursuit producing in your life? Fruit will help you know the true direction of your desires.
# 3 The Community Test
Open up your heart to friends, to the church. Let fellow believers in on your thoughts and desires. Allow them to ask tough questions about your motives and challenge you to greater maturity.
Look to Christ, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. As you rest in him and gaze on his glory, he will transform your heart so that it grows to reflect his own.
Tenacious Question of the Day
Have your ambitions ever soured? What did it look like in your life for some aspiration to suddenly break bad? How might you guard against this right now?
Prayer
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Amen.
Photo by Dan Kiefer on Unsplash
