Ambition

     Ambition!    I have heard this word all of my life.   Most of the time it is used with the words "selfish"  and "blind."  So you at first it seemed a little unnerving to find it used in Scripture.  The dictionary word for ambition seems rather benign, with nothing belying the evil connotation often associated with it.  Ambition is defined as "a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work."   Those last two phrases "determination" and "hard work" don't seem to fit the negative stereotype of ambition.  

     How did I get on this topic you ask?   Since my miraculous salvation at a small church on Crawford Road in Phenix City, Alabama in 1977, I have heard Christians talk about a life verse.  In my study of Scripture and in listening to sermons I have searched for verses that would guide me in my Christian walk.  I know we are all called by the Great Commission to go and make disciples, but what verses would sustain me in everyday life as I carry out that commission. Three verses in particular have been my cud for a long time.  I define cud as verses, thoughts, quotations on which my mind masticates and meditates.   The first is Philippians 4:6-7

  6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This is a verse that God has lived out in me many times.  I have a story behind the first time I felt that "peace which passes all understanding" that I will save for another time.  I love it when people ask what that peace feels like.  My answer is easy!  The way that peace feels "passes all understanding."

 The second passage on which I ruminate is James 1:19-20:

 19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to  speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.  21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 

I have a story about God making this verse real to me also which will have to wait for another post.  The last verse, and the verse which brings us to the word ambition,  Our passage is 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12:

11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of  outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

There is our word in verse 11.  I wish I could say I have a story for how God has made these verses real to me, but I would not be telling the truth.  I have stories from my life about God revealing the truth of this verse to me.

     By my very nature, I was born an attention seeker.  I won't bore you with my life story, but from 1st grade to high school graduation  my name appeared on the roles of 5 different schools, all within 50 miles of each other.   Class clown does not even begin to describe me in public school.   As the baby of my family, I was constantly seeking attention at home and at school.  I sought attention especially at school because I wanted to make friends fast and "fit in."   You can see why the words of 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 run counter to my nature.  But still I chew on those words.

      While in Zambia this summer, this passage was very real to me.  There was nobody to impress, and nobody's whose attention I sought.  As I surrendered to God to be used at NDO however he wanted to use me, it became my "determination" to "work hard"  to make the serve as much and as often as possible because my time in Zambia was short (our 39 days in country was fleeting to say the least).   No, I am not tooting my own horn here.  God removed the obstacles I normally experience in serving (seeking attention, approval and gratitude), and gave me a heart for service.  One day that meant manning the faucet while Blu and the ladies cleaned the coolers and pots after Kid's Club one Saturday.  By the way I volunteered to drag the hose down to the kitchen so they would have to haul containers of water to do the washing, so I set myself up.  But as I stood there, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 were in my mind being chewed and processed.

       Back at home, there are so many distractions, it is sometimes difficult to see or find opportunities to serve.  It takes even more "hard work" and "determination".  Those opportunities to serve are often overshadowed by my desire to seek attention or approval for what I do and who I am.  It is easy to forget that my value and righteousness are in Christ alone.   I find myself speaking up often, when Christ is best served by my "quiet life" and "minding my own business."    Although the context of James 1:19-20 is about anger, the first part of that verse is sound advice when coupled with our passage.  I should be "quick to listen and slow to speak." 

      My typing teacher in 7th grade had some posters on her wall that were sage advice, if I had only understood them then.  The first said, "It is better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt."  The second said, "an empty can rattles the loudest!"   Plato famously said, "Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.”   Ms. Reliford, my typing teacher, Plato, and Paul are all admonishing me to make it my ambition to lead a quiet life and mind my own business.  There is a benefit leading a quiet life.  The still small voice of God is more easily heard when my mouth is closed, and my mind is meditating on the Word of God and not other people's business.

     I covet your prayers as I masticate on 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12.  I am a work in progress.