A few years ago I wrote the book Resgatando a Ambicao [Fiel Editor] and asked for a ransom. I wanted to deflect ambition from many bad motivations and put it into action for the glory of God. I wanted Christians to understand that in order to understand our ambition, we must understand that we are seeking glory. And where we find glory determines the success of our quest. Since I wrote this book, many have suggested that I address God’s ambitious purpose in the workplace and in daily calling. The next is a quarter of a multi-part series about Rescuing Ambition in the Workplace. You can read parts 1, 2 and 3 here.
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- What happens when selfishness.
- False humility.
- Or frustration stifry ambition?What’s the result when I don’t want to be that ambitious madman who wins at all costs?It becomes “I have absolutely no dream”.
The 19th-century historian, Alexis de Tocqueville, described it well, long before ‘Mediation’ became a word of fashion:
What worries me most is the danger that in the midst of all the constant and insignificant concerns of intimacy, ambition will lose both its strength and its greatness, that human passions will become softer and at the same time vulgar, so that the progress of society becomes increasingly discreet and less ambitious. [1]
Tocqueville’s observation should worry us all. There is an unintended consequence when we stigmatize ambition: it becomes smaller. Men don’t aspire. Women don’t dream. Children don’t want to be astronauts; are happy to see them on TELEVISION. Dreams raise concerns about the safety and protection of our lifestyle. Our inner explorer retreats, happy to relax rather than produce. We remember the past and abandon the future. The impact of life is buried under the direction of life; life is simply established to exist. Ambition, as Tocqueville observed, is losing strength and greatness.
And being a Christian doesn’t mean your workday should look like this.
Imagine two workers, both Christians. We see their work as an obstacle to their desire for impact: a relevant life, work is what you need to do for a living, something routine. In your mind, your vocation is how you spend your time waiting for God to put you into action.
The other Christian will work every day knowing that he represents the King of Kings, his true Master, is an ambassador in a cabin. Every working relationship has an eternal meaning. Each project is an opportunity to reflect the Creator himself. This man wants to stand out because he will increase his influence on the gospel. Work is important because it is the dominion that God has entrusted to you. it’s a place to sow ambition, and I mean the right kind of ambition.
What does that mean? Here is the big point: God seeks a holy ambition, not the kind of self-centered ambition that measures success only through ascension. I speak of the fiery, courageous, intensely humble, and humbly intense ambition that burns to see the name of Christ exalted and God’s plans to move forward. I wrote Rescuing Ambition as a passionate plea to encourage this kind of ambition.
Paulo had it. He said: ?? from Jerusalem and the surrounding areas to the iliac, I spread the gospel of Christ, thus trying to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been proclaimed, so as not to build upon the foundations of others (Romans 15:19-20). ).
Paul’s ambition achieved something wonderful: “I spread the gospel of Christ. ” This is a good lens to check on the to-do list!To be able to die saying that I should satisfy any Christian. But Paulo wasn’t satisfied. I was grateful for the current outcome, but ambitious for the future opportunity. Unlike a busy but never-realized business leader, Paulo’s pious ambitions allowed him to realize that his work in one place was done. They also led him to consider new places where he could glorify God’s name through the gospel. Happy with the present, but aspiring to the future: he was Paul, the apostle of ambition.
Are we expected to be ambitious? Absolutely, but the purpose of our ambition is gospel clarity in the workplace, fruitful work for the good of others, the godly nature of a strong work ethic, integrity, strong and clear leadership. to caress our own ego or fulfill our own dreams. No, we seek to make a statement about the gospel and to bear witness to the powerful work of grace in us, to help us walk a different path. Christians belong to the market, because the gospel belongs to the market.
My friend CEO realized a real need among Christians: Paul’s need for motivation in today’s market; a desire to exploit our gifts to their full potential for the glorification of God, an ambition that lives grateful for past successes, as it struggles and is pushed. in the future.
Why leave the business world to ambitious selfish people?My desire is to see pious Christians start business out of divine ambition at the center of commerce, government, universities and institutions. Wherever ideas are put into practice, the gospel has something to say. needs an ambition that will not remain until more businesses are started, more skilled leaders, more problems solved, more marriages helped, more art created, more people affected, more established churches, more trained disciples; an ambition that lives happily today, but wants more for God and for God tomorrow.
Why wouldn’t it be you?
1 Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, quoted in David Brooks, Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There