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AMBITION
Have you ever had your dreams shattered? Have you wondered
where God was when life became too much to bear? Have you ever thought that if
you had more in life you would get more out of life?
In his book, Shattered Dreams, Larry Crabb wrote:
"Satan's masterpiece is not the prostitute or the
skid-row bum. It is the self-sufficient person who has made life comfortable,
who is adjusting well to the world and truly likes living here, a person who
dreams of no better place to live, who longs only to be a little better—and a
little better off—than he already is."
—Larry Crabb, Shattered Dreams, p. 126, Illustration
by Jim L. Wilson and Ed Rowell
When it comes to spiritual things, we are all bankrupt
before the Father. People who have true joy are God-dependant, not
self-sufficient. They yearn for a better relationship with Him through
difficult times and find their joy in that relationship, not the fulfillment of
their dreams.
Matthew
5:3 KJV "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven."
For more information on Shattered Dreams go to, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1578564522/fm082-20
AMBITION
Pop Artist Andy Warhol once said that in the age of television,
every person would have 15 minutes of fame. Commenting on that thought in Our
Daily Bread, David Roper says that though we may be given a brief moment of
fame, we should not seek it.
David observes how selfish ambition often manifests itself
in a passion for the "best seats," or in a quest for personal
recognition. Unbridled ambition can cause us to dominate social situations, and
insist on telling our story instead of listening to the concerns of others.
Ambition makes us want to be noticed, prominent, and in the limelight, instead
of sitting on the sidelines of life.
David suggests that each of us cope with the desire for fame
and ambition by learning God's way of living, from Jesus. He says, God's way is
the opposite of selfish ambition. Living God's way allows us to be content when
others are elevated above us, to rejoice when someone is preferred over us, and
to give other people credit instead of claiming it for ourselves. David says,
"We begin to learn God's way from Jesus. He was gentle and lowly in heart
(Matthew 11:29
) and didn't try to protect His own dignity or position."
When we follow Jesus' example for dealing with ambition,
others will be more likely to see Jesus when our fifteen minutes of fame
arrives.
—Our Daily Bread, March 25, 2002, Selfish Ambition,
Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
AMBITION
Like many young adults, Kyle MacDonald had a dream of owning
his own home. Besides the dream, he had two other things—he had a big red paper
clip and he had a plan to parlay that paper clip into something bigger.
Utilizing Craigslist barter section, he asked people to
trade with him, but he was clear that he needed to trade up. He traded the
paper clip for a fish-shaped pen which he bartered for a ceramic knob, which
quickly became a camping stove. After several more trades, he finally owned
something of significant value—a year's free rent in Phoenix.
By this time his story made the talk show circuit and he got
a big break. Corbin Bernsen, of LA Law and Major League fame, offered a
speaking part in a movie he was writing and directing. But MacDonald wasn't
willing to trade the year's free rent for the speaking part, because he didn't
figure Bernsen really needed the house, so he began searching for something
that Bernsen would really want before he closed the deal with him. MacDonald
traded the rent in exchange for an afternoon with Alice Cooper of KISS fame,
which he traded the time with Cooper for a Snow Globe depicting Cooper's band.
Then he approached Bernsen with the snow globe in exchange for the movie part.
Who knew that Corbin Bernsen had a collection of 6500 snow globes? Apparently,
MacDonald had done his homework and knew.
MacDonald was able to trade the speaking part in Bersen's
movie for a three bedroom house in Kipling, Saskatchewan. Which just goes to
show you; if you have a dream and a plan, all you really need is a paperclip to
make it happen.
—http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/07/10/paper.clip.to.house.ap/index.html
Illustration by Jim L. Wilson
Luke
14:28 (NIV) "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not
first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete
it?"
AMBITION
You can't really blame Albert Malone for trying to get ahead
in his military career. Wanting to get a better job, he went to law school and
applied for the JAG (Judge Advocate General's) Corp but was turned down because
of poor eyesight. Oh, did I mention that when he was in the Navy, his primary
job was to "sight guns?"
—Reader's Digest, Nov 2004, p. 66. Illustration by Jim L.
Wilson
1
Timothy 3:1 (HCSB) "This saying is trustworthy: 'If anyone aspires to
be an overseer, he desires a noble work.'"
AMBITION/HUMILITY
In an interview with Biography Magazine, Kelly Ripa, Regis'
perky Co-Host on LIVE with Regis & Kelly, said: "a lot of people in
show business are driven, I think, in their need to be famous. I've never had
that desire. Every time I have a little bit of fame, I think, 'Okay, this is
interesting, but I don't want to get any more than this.' Fame isn't what makes
me happy. What makes me happy is doing my work and enjoying my friends and my
husband and my children."
—Biography, June 2001, p. 116 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson
Matthew 23:5-12
"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries
wide and the tassels on their garments long; [6] they love the place of honor
at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; [7] they love to be
greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'
[8] But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only
one Master and you are all brothers. [9] And do not call anyone on earth
'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. [10] Nor are you to be
called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. [11] The greatest among
you will be your servant. [12] For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and
whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
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