It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Romans 15:20

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Philippians 2:3

The apostle Paul wrote both of the verses quoted above.  At first glance, they may seem contradictory so I want to ask the question:  Is there a difference between godly ambition and selfish ambition and does it matter?

Ambition in Greek word study books means “to seek after honor and praise or to aspire to a lofty goal.” Clearly, there is a difference between seeking honor for God and seeking honor for ourselves, but sometimes it is not so easy to determine what the real core of our own motives is.  However, one brings the blessing of God and reward in heaven, while the other does not. 

Many of the issues Jesus had with the Pharisees revolved around this point.  He warned those to whom he preached not to be like the Pharisees – not to practice their righteousness, their prayers, nor their fasts in order to be seen by others so that they might receive the praise of men for their “great spirituality” (Matthew 6).  Rather, he directed them to do those things in ways that only God could see and promised that the Father would reward them for doing so. Jesus declared that those who did good things in order things to receive praise from men had already received their reward. 

This teaching is relevant today because some of the most “gifted” church leaders I have known through the years, have struggled with their motives and with the challenge of pride or a desire for approval.  Because they were church leaders, it was easy for them to believe that their motives were pure – to build the kingdom of God.  But underneath that goal, were darker drives.  If they were honest with themselves, they loved the praise of men, they loved to be counted in the top tier of church leaders in their denomination, they loved the spotlight, and often resented moments when others were asked to speak, write, or lead other than themselves.

The truth is that these men often operated out of exceptional natural gifts even more than spiritual gifts.  The exercise of spiritual gifts made us all assume that that they were driven by godly ambition rather than selfish ambition.  Those gifts – healing, prophecy, teaching, leadership, preaching, etc. made it hard for them to detect their own deeper motives as well.

Here is the thing, we are all subject to the same temptation.  David wisely prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps. 139:23).

Many of us desire leadership roles or greater leadership roles, profound spiritual gifts, speaking opportunities, opportunities to serve on significant planning teams, and expanded influence.  If our goal is to use those opportunities to reach the lost, build up the body of Christ, and to bring praise to God, then we are in a good place.  If we detect any selfish ambition in those desires, then we must acknowledge them, repent, and keep an eye on our hearts.  We should also pray David’s prayer on a daily basis.

Sometimes, we are promoted in the kingdom of God by men rather than by the King himself.  Our gifts can exceed our character.  Some of the failures of high-profile church leaders in recent years occurred because their gifts and promotion exceeded their spiritual character.  One of the great differences between King Saul and King David was that Saul was promoted to power and influence before his heart had been tested and before his character had developed to carry the weight of his office. The result was leadership based on polling data, the envy of others who succeeded, and jealousy to the extent that he desired to murder those who might have more influence than he did.  David, on the other hand, went through years of testing and being humbled before he ever ascended to the throne.  He made mistakes – huge mistakes – but he humbled himself before God and ultimately put himself in God’s hands when it came to promotion rather than listening to men or engineering his promotion by his own efforts.  Saul is not remembered as a great King.  David is.

We should all want to do more for Jesus.  But we need to ask the Holy Spirit to make it clear if we have any motives that muddy the waters of our heart.  And let me be clear… it is not whether we have any mixed or selfish motives, because we all do.  The difference is about what we do with our patches of selfish ambition.