Written by Pastor Jack WellmanWorld’s Best 20 Bible Verses About Ambition
The word ambitious, in the worldly sense, means to have more or do more than your neighbor and often times carries the connotation that “he with the most toys wins.” However, in the Bible, the word ambition takes on a whole different meaning. The world teaches we must be the best, have a huge house, the most expensive car, the biggest paycheck , the Bible teaches us differently. We need to ask ourselves, is our ambition to please God or to please the world?
Scripture clearly teaches that those that seek approval and esteem from men cannot truly believe in Jesus. So, here are the world’s best 20 Bible verses about ambition for you to study and make sure you are on the right path!
5 Stories From The Bible About Ambition
Here are 5 stories from the Bible about having ambition.
A Little Rest
Ambition starts in the morning. I mean, it begins with the start of a new day. The first thing to consider is to set your alarm clock a little earlier than normal so you can take in some of the Word of God every day, but there is a warning about sleeping in or hitting that snooze button too often. Scripture says, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest” (Proverbs 6:10). Just 5 more minutes…that’s all we need, right, but one pastor said, “Its mind over mattress.”
Losing Your Soul
Ambition is fine, but being consumed by the pursuit of wealth can lead us away from God. We can gain the highest of positions. We might achieve great things and acquire much wealth, but how can you put a price on an eternal soul that might be separated from God forever? Our ambitions can work for the good or for the bad. Jesus asked the rhetorical question, “For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself” (Luke 9:25)?
Sleep and Poverty
If we like the necessities of life, we’ll be motivated to work. Our ambition might be to be something more at work, but if we don’t put all we’ve got into our job, we’ll just stay in pretty much the same place, but don’t let sleep rob you of opportunities at work. If ignored, slothfulness and tardiness can lead to poverty. It can also lead to the loss of a job. Solomon said, “Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread” (Proverbs 20:13). Where there is no ambition, the cupboards are emptier.
The Desire for Riches
Two things about possessions are; you can possess them or they can possess you (and me). Many people have a lot of wealth, but unbeknown to them, their wealth has them. It has captured their heart. The Apostle Paul warned Timothy that “those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9).
Seeking His Righteousness
Seeking things doesn’t work as well as seeking the kingdom first and foremost, because if you do, God supplies all your needs. Seeking the kingdom means seeking the righteousness of God because that’s the only way you can enter. The righteousness of God is found only in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), so stop worrying about life’s necessities, and rather, “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
People with great ambition have accomplished many great things, but if that ambition is aimed toward the wrong thing, it can become destructive. Besides, the things of this world are passing away, so why not invest in the things of the kingdom; a kingdom that shall never pass away.
