Prov. 27:20 (NCV) People will never stop dying and being destroyed, and they will never stop wanting more than they have.
What we “chase after” defines us – whether we like it or not. Some of us are more subtle in our chasing – we keep it at the fantasy level – you know, just in the head – never expressed as a vision, or personal goal. But it’s there. Defining us. What a person meditates upon can destroy them or develop them.
The human story is ripe with ambitious men and women – chasing dreams that, in the end, destroyed them, and even societies. Fortunately, there are also stories in the Judeo/Christian record of leaders whose ambition was not me-centered, but God-centered expressing an ambition to encourage, empower, and enhance the lives of others.
What are people of faith to do in the marketplace? "The world's idea that everyone, from childhood up, should be able at all times to succeed in measurable ways, and that it is a great disgrace not to, hangs over the Christian community like a pall of acrid smoke." (J.I. Packer. A Passion for Faithfulness: Wisdom From the Book of Nehemiah, Crossway Books 2000, pg. 206)
Our ambition must be coated with a resolute discipline of our will and built around the core of a humility of our spirit – or, we will end up leading just like those whose purpose for living is wrapped up in survival and not in eternity.
What are you wanting?
Copyright ©2010 by P.Griffith Lindell
Friday, May 21, 2010
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1 comment:
When the stress of life bears down on me some times I just want to survive. Other times I want to help mature the body of Christ and then there are times I want to just be alone without responsibilities.
So what I want often is tempered by what does God want. As I lead I know that God is watching, but I am very aware that those I'm leading are watching as well.
So what I want most is to represent Him well no matter what life brings.
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