The Instinct of Ambition: The Story of MosesSýnishorn

Make This Your Ambition

Paul had encouraging words for the church at Thessalonica. They were demonstrating to the whole world what it looked like to love and serve one another. I’m sure they were making sacrifices to do it. Their love wasn’t theoretical or abstract. They were living it. Their faith was tangible and real. And Paul wasn’t afraid to honor them for it

But he wanted to remind them of their best ambition. As it is often translated, Paul urged them to make it their ambition to lead a quiet life.

It is easy to get busy, even ambitious, in doing good things. You can serve God and others out of a restless and ambitious energy to do good and prove yourself. It’s one of the challenges of ambition. Often the work and effort is worth doing, but because it sounds good and feels good, we let it go unchecked.

The Thessalonians should keep serving and loving one another, but Paul reminded them that their ambition was to live quiet humble lives. They would earn respect, not by ambitious achievements or grand spectacles of sacrifice and faith. They would earn respect by quietly going about their business.

We are not to lose ourselves in ambition. We aren’t supposed to appear desperate or restless. The way we live should demonstrate faith and trust in something bigger than ourselves. We work not to prove ourselves or impress others. We work to humbly serve God who is already at work caring for and guiding us.

Paul’s words are a warning to all who seek to do good things. Keep at it. It’s good to do good. But make sure your true ambition is humble, quiet, and focused on what God is doing. Don't let the good work you undertake rob you of God. Don’t let it rob you of faith in Him. Do not let it rule you and leave you restless and desperate.

It’s worth asking yourself, what is the real ambition of your life? What is that thing which you are ultimately aiming at and working toward? Paul suggests it should be a quiet life of humble submission

A few years ago, I heard a professor lecturing on the transfiguration of Christ. He was discussing possible locations for the event. He believed that when Jesus became transfigured before his disciples, it was probably on Mount Tabor, near the Sea of Galilee.

As scripture records, Jesus began to shine with radiant light and was suddenly surrounded by Elijah and Moses. It struck me, Moses was in the promised land after all. Not in that old worn-out body of his wandering, but there with Christ.

Nothing is really lost. Setting down your ambition, your dream doesn't mean God can’t do it. Moses was made to give up his ambition and rest, and by his obedience, God did finally deliver him into the promised land.

Rest is your way of setting aside ambition and receiving those better things only God can do.

What is the ultimate ambition of your life?