I. Introduction
A. The Average Religious Guy Wants to Convice you That Amibtion and Faith are opposing forces.
The only problem is that this philosophy is dead wrong. The average person looking to place faith and ambition in opposition is just looking for an excuse to justify his personal failures.
“If I’m not successful and you are, the only reason is because I’m more spiritual than you are! You must be really worldly to have amassed all that worldly success”.
Just like these men do when they purport the Poverty Gospel, they must demonize ambition and worldly success as well.
Their only choice to make themselves feel better is to make the issue of success a moral one. The fastest way for religious people to claim the high ground is to take an amoral position and convert it into a moral one.
By doing so they make their necessity a virtue.
B. People are more successful now than ever.
Even people who are “failures” are more successful than people have ever been in history, financially speaking. They may not have the drive or personal success, but they have money that civilizations past could only dream of.
This is just like the poverty gospel where even the “poor” have more material wealth than the wealthy would have had just a few hundred years ago, let alone when the Bible was being written.
There is no room for anyone to babble on when it comes to success, failure, and ambition. Even people with no ambition have luxuries that the hardest-working businessmen couldn’t have dreamed of in centuries past.
C. Thesis statement: Contrary to the false philosophy of the poverty gospel, contentment, and ambition are not mutually exclusive but rather complement each other.
Colossians 3:23 is the key biblical text supporting this idea.
II. Understanding the False Philosophy of the Poverty Gospel
A. You already know what the poverty gospel is. It’s the envious idea that people who have wealth are automatically evil. It has no rationality behind it, or any validity in reality, but nevertheless, it is popular in religious circles. Including the religions of environmentalism and socialism.
Religious people desperately need wealth and faith to be opposing forces so that they can justify their lack of wealth to themselves.
But it’s all relative – again reflect on centuries past and you will see the poor today have unimaginable luxuries compared to the people of the past.
B. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, and Joseph – Content Ambitious Men
The Bible describes Abraham as a man rich in livestock silver and gold [Gen 13:2].
Now is Abraham evil because of his wealth?
Is he a bad guy because he amassed possessions in this material world?
No, we know that is not the case. We know it is possible to be Spiritual and wealthy at the same time. The two are not opposed. And Abraham’s is a great example of that.
What about Isaac [Gen 26:12-13]? He followed in his father’s footsteps and became so wealthy that he was the envy of the Land. Was this man materialistic and evil because he amassed so much wealth and possessions that he made other people feel bad? He hurt their feelings with how successful he is, but he would still be righteous.
Jacob followed the example of his father and his father before him [Gen 30:43]. Amassing possessions to the point of “excessive wealth”.
Did that possession make him evil? No.
Was he able to be righteous despite wealth? Absolutely.
Perhaps the most striking example is Job. This is a man whose story opens with an outline of his possessions, and of his character. Here is a man whose character is made more important because of his wealth. He is more impressive because despite having more money than everyone around him, he is still a righteous and just man.
Though He would lose all these possessions, he would maintain God as his priority. He never lost focus on God because he was a righteous man. And he was rewarded with double the possessions that he had before.
The faith of each of these men is not negative because of their wealth, but rather it is made more impressive.
Almost anyone can be righteous while they are poor. Give them a little money or a little power and they will show you who they truly are.
III. The Essence of Colossians 3:23: “Doing All as Unto the Lord”
A. Colossians 2:23 tells us clearly and succinctly that the attitude we should have while working is that we are actually working for the Lord.
This mentality helps us to maintain integrity in work. We might steal from our fellow man, but would we steal from Christ?
Additionally, it gives us permission to work with intensity and work to be successful.
If you were to work as if you were working for God and not your “stupid boss”, wouldn’t you be more successful? I would argue that you would be very successful at least within your own character.
B. By working for the Lord, you may start to find contentment in life.
Your job may be boring, and your co-workers may be annoying, but what your hands have found to do can be something that you honor God by doing.
C. Colossians 3:23 dispels the popular myth that if I’m working hard in the material world, I must be worldly.
No, we have a biblical admonition to work hard in the secular workplace. Therefore faith and ambition cannot be opposed.
IV. The Complementary Nature of Contentment and Ambition
A. Many have difficulty because their ambition overrides their ability to have peace.
They are so hungry to be successful that they cannot be peaceful anymore. I have been in that boat many times, so I understand the argument.
But since there is a biblical admonition to work and provide valuable service, and there is also a biblical admonition to be content, we know that both must be true.
God would not ask people to do things that are impossible or mutually exclusive. Therefore in some way, it must be possible to be content and ambitious.
When used correctly, ambition and contentment can have a symbiotic relationship, but it all depends on your mentality.
Attitude is always the key.
The key is that both your contentment and your ambition must exist in the present moment.
When you look into the future constantly or look constantly outside yourself at what you don’t have, you will find it hard to be content.
Also if you are constantly focused on the outcome of your ambition, it will be difficult to be content.
Rather you need to be ambitious for the present moment. Release your need to control the outcome, or the results, of your ambition.
When ambition exists right now, it is powerful. When I become ambitious for the present moment I can concentrate on the work right in front of me. And I can focus on doing the best I can right now. That is present-focused ambition.
And this present focus creates peace. Living in the past or present creates anxiety. But anxiety has a hard time living in the present.
When my goal is to work for the Lord and not for men, but I am content no matter the final results of my work – I am a content ambitious man.
I love goals and I am chasing outcomes in my life. So in no way am I suggesting you not have goals, plans, or things you are pursuing. But what you must do is what the ship captain does. He pulls out his map, marks the port he is sailing to, puts the map away, and sets sail, focusing on the process of sailing rather than an obsession with the port he is sailing to.
So be sure to have goals, but once you set your goals, put them away. Glance at them from time to time to check progress and course correct if you are going the wrong way. But do not obsess over how long it is taking to get there or how difficult it is. You must exist in the present.
The way to be the content ambitious man is to ground your ambition and contentment in the present moment.
Be ambitious for “the now”.
Concentrate that focus on the present and let go of your need to control the outcome. Trying to control the results is a surefire way to create anxiety in your life.
Where contentment provides peace amidst challenges, and ambition drives growth and progress.
V. Contentment: A Foundation for Healthy Ambition
Contentment is “present-oriented”. You are content when you look at what you have right now and are at peace with it. You are not looking outside yourself and generating envy for what you don’t have. You simply have peace with what you do have.
Contentment, therefore, is the foundation for ambition. As you ground yourself in the present to be content, you then. Have a good starting point to “leash” your ambition. Not that you are limiting yourself, setting small goals, or avoiding challenges and work – but you “leash” your ambition to the present. That will give you greater peace.
If you are struggling with contentment it could be because you are missing out on gratitude. A simple but effective technique to work on this is to make a gratitude list. You’ve likely heard about that a million times, and it almost seems silly to talk about, but for greater contentment, count your blessings – have gratitude. We sing the hymn “Count your many blessings“, but how few of us do this?
The gratitude list brings your blessings into your awareness. We forget about everything we have because it falls out of our awareness and we become accustomed to it. But activate your attention spotlight and point it at your blessings and you will realize how well off you are.
B. Without grounding in the present moment, ambition will be hollow.
Has nothing to control it, and it will run wild. You will become obsessed with outcomes and rob yourself of the pleasure of the process.
Many make the mistake of thinking that if they are content and thankful for what they have, they will become less hard-working and less ambitious. That will only happen if your ambition is future-oriented. Turn the fiery focus of your ambition to the present. Align it with the now, and you will have the same burning drive you have always had, and it will be directed into a moment that brings you greater peace – the present moment.
Ambition that is future-oriented, and that is detached from the present moment will create unnecessary pain through greed. There is nothing wrong with working to gain material things. But without gratitude or a present focus, it becomes a hollow obsession that drains the joy from the process
VI. Ambition: An Expression of Faith
Ambition, when aligned with God’s statutes for wealth management, becomes an expression of faith and obedience through proper stewardship of talents and resources. Faith is action-based. Taking action in the direction of our goals does not mean we lack faith in God to provide for us. That is the type of mentality that results from perverting the teachings of the Bible.
God has always expected His people to take action. Each man is personally responsible for his own life and must act according to [Ezk. 18:20] This applies in every avenue of man’s walk: from religion to profession, to health, to finance.
A Man’s task is to row his own boat without expecting God to do all the heavy lifting.
Conclusion & Key Takeaways
The content-ambitious man exists. It is possible to be both content and ambitious at the same time.
- Misconception of Faith and Ambition: Some suggest faith and ambition oppose each other, attributing success to spirituality over worldly achievement. This is a fallacy used to justify personal failures.
- Success: Relative and Multifaceted: Even “failures” today possess more material wealth than historical civilizations. The poverty gospel notion and demonizing ambition are attempts to morally justify the lack of success.
- Biblical Examples: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, and Joseph amassed wealth without compromising their righteousness. Their faith and abundance coexisted, showcasing that spirituality and material success aren’t mutually exclusive.
- Colossians 3:23: Encourages working for the Lord, promoting integrity, intensity, and permission for ambition in the secular world. This dispels the myth that striving for success in the material realm equates to worldliness.
- Contentment and Ambition Synergy: Balancing ambition and contentment is possible. Grounding ambition in the present moment fosters peace. Being present-focused on ambition while releasing the need to control outcomes cultivates content ambition.
- Contentment as Foundation: Contentment, rooted in gratitude and present awareness, acts as the base for healthy ambition. A gratitude list can enhance contentment by highlighting one’s blessings.
- Ambition Aligned with Faith: Ambition, when guided by biblical principles of stewardship and faith, aligns with proper wealth management. It expresses obedience through action while acknowledging personal responsibility.
- Taking Personal Responsibility: Faith doesn’t absolve individuals from taking action in their lives. Man is accountable and must actively engage in all aspects of life, including religion, profession, health, and finance.
