SELFISH AMBITION

Inspirational Words from the Bible

Nov 17

I bet we have seen selfish people throughout our lives. But here we have selfish ambition. This selfishness pushes people out of the way so they can get ahead, no matter the cost to anyone else.

Galatians 5:20 NLT

20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition,

Many of the versions/translations say the same thing: selfish ambition. So let's dig into these two words.

Selfish:

Concerned chiefly or excessively with oneself, and having little regard for others.
Showing or arising from an excessive concern with oneself and a lack of concern for others.
Caring supremely or unduly for one's self; regarding one's own comfort, advantage, etc., in disregard, or at the expense, of those of others.

Ambition:

An eager or strong desire to achieve something, such as fame or power.
An eager or strong desire to achieve something, such as fame or power.
Desire for exertion or activity; energy.

As we look at these two definitions, we now need to put them together.

Selfish Ambition:

As I am unable to find a good description on the internet, let me try.

We have selfish, which is concerned more about themselves than anyone else. Then we have ambition, which is a strong desire to achieve something. In other words, I would say zealous.

So when we put the two together, it is being zealous to pursue something that would elevate you to show that you are better than anyone else. I would call this pride.

So let's get right to it here. The best one word for selfish ambition would be pride. That you are better - no matter at what. But it's not just pride, but pride in one-self. This is not pride in what your children have done or in anyone else. This is pride in yourself. You puff yourself up as being the answer to whatever is being asked for.

As we think about this, we say this is in the world. But is it? Could it be in the church, also? This is something that we need to get rid of. Selfish ambition/pride should not be in the church - not just the local church, but the church of Christ. Jesus had no selfish ambition at all. He was humble and was a servant to all. That is how our life should be like. Let's imitate Christ.

Self Examination

Let us examine our heart and see if there is any selfish pride in us at all. If there is, now is the time to repent and turn from that.