{"id":13137,"date":"2024-10-15T16:20:05","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T21:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/?p=13137"},"modified":"2024-10-15T16:31:59","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T21:31:59","slug":"is-ambition-a-good-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Ambition a Good Thing?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Don Whitney<\/em><\/a>, author of several NavPress books, is the John H. Powell Endowed Chair of Pastoral Ministry at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Here are several short, practical posts from his always-timely book, <\/em>Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed<\/a>. In these selected excerpts, Whitney will help us consider ways to simplify our journaling, our prayer, our Christian life in general, our priorities, and our time in Scripture. In this post on priorities, Whitney will help us understand when ambition is godly so that we can live a peaceful life.<\/em><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s very ambitious.\u201d Is that a compliment or a criticism? <\/strong>We know that it\u2019s not like Christ to climb over people, to politick for influence, or be driven blindly for wealth, position, or fame. But it\u2019s also unChristian to be slothful, dispassionate about the quality of your work, or without motivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way to simplify your spirituality is to clarify your ambition. A biblical starting place is to recognize that two very different kinds of ambition are described in the New Testament.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first is often presented as \u201cselfish ambition\u201d or \u201cself-seeking.\u201d<\/strong> This kind of ambition strains for personal gain at almost any cost. It\u2019s the sort of ambition that characterizes the ungodly (see Galatians 5:20) and those under the wrath of God (see Romans 2:8). Self-seeking ambition has a partner: \u201cbitter envy.\u201d<\/strong> Together they often push a person to \u201cboast and lie\u201d (James 3:14) in order to get ahead or to hold others back. And in any heart, home, or workplace \u201cwhere envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing will be there\u201d (James 3:16). Is there a more succinct description of a complicated life than one where \u201cconfusion and every evil thing\u201d abound?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s another kind of ambition described in the New Testament. We\u2019re ambitious in a holy sense when we eagerly aspire for something that is right and good in God\u2019s sight<\/strong>. Such ambition may be for things great or small, as long as the goal, method, and motivation are God-centered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord reveals another aspect of the right kind of ambition in the command of 1 Thessalonians 4:11\u2014\u201cmake it your ambition to lead a quiet life\u201d (NASB). That doesn\u2019t mean we shouldn\u2019t, in the famous words of pioneer missionary William Carey, \u201cAttempt great things for God.\u201d Instead it speaks to the object of our ambition. Ourselves, or God?<\/strong> Only when our ambition is to have no selfish ambition can we hope for a quieter life. Regardless of the size, scope, or pace of our pursuits, we should always \u201chave as our ambition . . . to be pleasing to Him\u201d (2 Corinthians 5:9). Whenever this ambition falls second to selfish ambition the spiritual life will decline. The demands of the higher affection will steal time from the spiritual disciplines. And eventually this leads to a more complicated and frustrating life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"\"
Donald S. Whitney<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Don Whitney<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Don Whitney<\/strong>\u00a0holds the John H. Powell Endowed Chair of Pastoral Ministry at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is professor of biblical spirituality and the director of the Center for Biblical Spirituality. He is the author of several books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Read more from Donald S. Whitney<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cHe\u2019s very ambitious.\u201d Is that a compliment or a criticism? We know that it\u2019s not like Christ to climb over people, to politick for influence, or be driven blindly for wealth, position, or fame. But it\u2019s also unChristian to be … <\/p>\n

Read moreIs Ambition a Good Thing?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":13138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":""},"categories":[613,3,8],"tags":[629,683,464],"yoast_head":"\nIs Ambition a Good Thing? - The Disciplemaker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Ambition a Good Thing? - The Disciplemaker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cHe\u2019s very ambitious.\u201d Is that a compliment or a criticism? We know that it\u2019s not like Christ to climb over people, to politick for influence, or be driven blindly for wealth, position, or fame. But it\u2019s also unChristian to be ... Read moreIs Ambition a Good Thing?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Disciplemaker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-15T21:20:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-15T21:31:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/10\/Right-Kind-of-Ambition.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1066\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The Disciplemaker Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Disciplemaker Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"The Disciplemaker Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/person\/93a9f96b87ecc4b881dfad8ff1633c6a\"},\"headline\":\"Is Ambition a Good Thing?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-15T21:20:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-15T21:31:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/\"},\"wordCount\":532,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Donald Whitney\",\"priorities\",\"Simplify Your Spiritual Life\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Christian Beliefs\",\"Discipleship\",\"Grow\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/\",\"name\":\"Is Ambition a Good Thing? - The Disciplemaker\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-15T21:20:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-15T21:31:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is Ambition a Good Thing?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/\",\"name\":\"The Disciplemaker\",\"description\":\"Bold. Loving. Sensible.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#organization\",\"name\":\"NavPress\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/cropped-The-Disciplemaker.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/cropped-The-Disciplemaker.png\",\"width\":4092,\"height\":818,\"caption\":\"NavPress\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/person\/93a9f96b87ecc4b881dfad8ff1633c6a\",\"name\":\"The Disciplemaker Team\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c80e1df93ad3ab45bbdaa8ee23f7f82?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c80e1df93ad3ab45bbdaa8ee23f7f82?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"The Disciplemaker Team\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/author\/jessica\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is Ambition a Good Thing? - The Disciplemaker","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is Ambition a Good Thing? - The Disciplemaker","og_description":"\u201cHe\u2019s very ambitious.\u201d Is that a compliment or a criticism? We know that it\u2019s not like Christ to climb over people, to politick for influence, or be driven blindly for wealth, position, or fame. But it\u2019s also unChristian to be ... Read moreIs Ambition a Good Thing?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/","og_site_name":"The Disciplemaker","article_published_time":"2024-10-15T21:20:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-15T21:31:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1066,"url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/10\/Right-Kind-of-Ambition.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"The Disciplemaker Team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"The Disciplemaker Team","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/"},"author":{"name":"The Disciplemaker Team","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/person\/93a9f96b87ecc4b881dfad8ff1633c6a"},"headline":"Is Ambition a Good Thing?","datePublished":"2024-10-15T21:20:05+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-15T21:31:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/"},"wordCount":532,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#organization"},"keywords":["Donald Whitney","priorities","Simplify Your Spiritual Life"],"articleSection":["Christian Beliefs","Discipleship","Grow"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/","url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/","name":"Is Ambition a Good Thing? - The Disciplemaker","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-10-15T21:20:05+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-15T21:31:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2024\/10\/is-ambition-a-good-thing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is Ambition a Good Thing?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/","name":"The Disciplemaker","description":"Bold. Loving. Sensible.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#organization","name":"NavPress","url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/cropped-The-Disciplemaker.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/06\/cropped-The-Disciplemaker.png","width":4092,"height":818,"caption":"NavPress"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/person\/93a9f96b87ecc4b881dfad8ff1633c6a","name":"The Disciplemaker Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c80e1df93ad3ab45bbdaa8ee23f7f82?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8c80e1df93ad3ab45bbdaa8ee23f7f82?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"The Disciplemaker Team"},"url":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/author\/jessica\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13137"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13137"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13151,"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13137\/revisions\/13151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}