If you are familiar with the works of William Shakespeare, you know that Macbeth was one of his characters. Macbeth wanted so much to be king that he resorted to murder – and he paid for it with his life.
We are like that tragic character when we let our ambitions cloud our thinking and forget who is really in control of our lives. We don’t use evil methods to achieve our goal, but we do allow ambition to cloud our thinking about the sovereignty of God. Instead of leaving matters in His hands, we take them into our own.
Another example of too much ambition is found in the conversation James and John had with Jesus in Mark 10. Their goal was to sit in the positions of greatest prestige and power in the kingdom. And because they weren’t content to wait and see if Jesus would bestow that honor on them, they boldly requested it. They were too impatient to leave the whole matter in His hands.
Ambition is not always wrong. But when it consumes us so that we can’t wait for God, we display a lack of faith as the disciples did.
When we submit our goals and desires to the Lord, we can be sure that He will give us what is best. – David C. Branon
Lord, grant us now the grace to wait,
To trust alone in You,
Lest we set goals outside Your will
That we with zeal pursue. – Anon.
Read: Mark 10:35-45
Be ambitious for the Lord, but be cautious about your motives.
The Bible in one year:
• Deuteronomy 5-7
• Mark 11:1-18