Harvest Pointe Christian Church, Milford Ohio is a non-denominational Christian Church (Church of Christ) on the Eastside of Cincinnati OH

Maintaining a Healthy Ambition | Series: Money Wise | 01-10-10

Maintaining a Healthy Ambition
Series: Money Wise
Various Proverbs

Lesson # 1: A healthy ambition is God-given and should be encouraged.
["sluggard" means a lazy person.] Proverbs 6:6, Genesis 2:15, Matthew 25:21, John 5:17

Positive Results of a Healthy Ambition
    1. Ambition gives us a sense of dignity and fulfillment. Ecclesiastes 3:13
    2. Ambition motivates us to provide for our family.  I Timothy 5:8, Proverbs 13:22
    3. Ambition enhances our Christian testimony.  I Peter 2:12, Colossians 3:23
    4. Ambition enables generosity.  II Corinthians 9:11, Proverbs 3:9-10

Lesson # 2: Lack of ambition is sinful and should be resisted. Proverbs 10:4; 12:24; 13:4

Characteristics of a Sluggard.
    1. He can't get started in the morning.  Proverbs 19:15, Proverbs 6:9-11
    2. He seldom finishes anything.  Proverbs 12:27
    3. He's full of excuses.  Proverbs 22:13
    4. He seems to get a lot of bad breaks.  Proverbs 15:19
    5. He's a big talker.  Proverbs 14:23
    6. He has unrealistic dreams.  Proverbs 28:19
    7. He gets on people's nerves.  Proverbs 10:26, Proverbs 19:13

Lesson # 3: Uncontrolled ambition is dangerous and must be restricted.  Ecclesiastes 7:18

Safeguards Against Uncontrolled Ambition
    1. Ambition must be restricted by our love for family.  Proverbs 15:27, Ecclesiastes 4:8
    2. Ambition must be restricted by our love for God.  Proverbs 11:18, Proverbs 22:1, Philippians 4:12-13, Philippians 3:12-14

Full Text 

The January 8, 2001 issue of Newsweek Magazine carried a cover story about Oprah Winfrey . "From her dirt poor beginnings in rural Mississippi to iconic status as the queen of TV talk, the 46-year-old star is now estimated to be worth $800 million. Yet, she continues to reach for more. In addition to hosting a regular talk show, she produces movies and television programs, she acts, she teaches a class on leadership at Northwestern University , and most recently she started a new magazine, O , which is the most successful magazine ever launched."

Now, Oprah Winfrey is liked by most people. She's more motivational than confrontational. She at least shows an interest in spiritual things, and reportedly she gives away millions of dollars to charity. But the magazine article said, however, "The pressures of managing all her interests have left her exhausted and eager to lighten the workload."

As you think about that article, you have to ask, "How much is enough? When does a person say, "I have enough money. I don't need any more."? Or if the motivation isn't money, when does a person say, "I have enough influence. I don't need any more."? Where does a healthy ambition end and rank egotism begin?

Bruce Springsteen sang, "Poor men want to be rich; rich men want to be kings; kings ain't satisfied 'til they rule everything." This desire to have more and more is instinctive within every one of us regardless of how much we have. That drive properly channeled can motivate people to accomplish some fantastic things in life. But an ambition out of control can consume time, create stress, destroy relationships and alienate people from God.

Jesus told about a rich farmer who had a record harvest and said, "Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to tear down these barns, build bigger barns. I'm going to store up all my crops so that I have enough for many years, and then I'll eat, drink and be merry and know that I have arrived." But the Lord said to him, "You fool! Tonight you're going to die. Then who will own all these things?" We must have a desire for something more than the things of this world.

Well, King Solomon had some wisdom to share about a healthy ambition in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. So, let's see 3 lessons that Solomon teaches us about ambition.

Lesson # 1: A healthy ambition is God-given and should be encouraged.

Now, we're going to see a word that most of us don't use. It is "sluggard" and it means a lazy person. Proverbs 6:6-8.  "6 Go to the ant, you sluggard [you lazy person]; consider its ways and be wise! 7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, 8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest." Solomon singled out the ant because the ant works hard all the time to store up provisions. He doesn't say, "Go to the cat" or "Go to the dog".You see them laying around being lazy. He says, "Go to the ant."

God designed us to be ambitious, to accumulate, to achieve. In fact, when God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, in Genesis 2:15, even before they sinned He gave them work to do. They were to take care of the Garden of Eden. So work was not a curse. When they sinned their work became more difficult and that became the curse.

However, God created people to be ambitious enough to work and improve their conditions. That's why so often when God called people into his service He chose people who were already working:  Moses was herding sheep; Gideon was threshing wheat; David was watching his father's flock; Elijah was plowing; Nehemiah was serving in the king's cabinet; Amos was picking figs; Matthew was collecting taxes; James and John were fishing.

In Matthew 25:21 Jesus commended the 5 talent man and the 2 talent man who had doubled their investments: "Well done, good and faithful servant!" He was pleased that they were ambitious enough to multiply what they had.

We read in John 5:17, "Jesus said to them, 'My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.'" When we're ambitious enough to work, we're being like God and like Jesus..

Now, let's look at some Positive Results of a Healthy Ambition

1. Ambition gives us a sense of dignity and fulfillment.

Ecclesiastes 3:13. "That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil-this is the gift of God."

It's been interesting through the years to listen to people laid off and on unemployment. Other people are saying, "What a break!  You get a check and don't even have to go in to work!" But the person on unemployment doesn't see it that way. They would rather be working. They would rather be earning that pay check. You see, each of us has been gifted by God and when we have the opportunity to do a job well, there is a satisfaction, a sense of dignity that comes as a result.

If you find yourself in a situation where you no longer need to work-maybe you got a big inheritance or you retire that is a potential blessing but it's also a potential curse. You had better find some meaningful goals that will challenge your instinctive ambitions or life will lose its dignity and its significance.

2. Ambition motivates us to provide for our family.

This is a higher motivation than satisfaction. I Timothy 5:8 says, "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Just like a bird will bring food back to the nest for its babies, a parent with a twinge of conscience will provide the basics for the children.

Elaine Chow was President Bush's Labor Secretary. Her parents, as a very young couple, came to America on a boat from Taiwan. Elaine was just eight-years-old and in the third grade. She said, "My father took three jobs to make ends meet. I went to school and I didn't know hardly any English. I just copied down what was on the blackboard. I'd go home at night and my father knew a little more and he would try to interpret it for me at night." But she said, "He taught me the principles of freedom and the value of hard work." Mr. Chow left an inheritance worth more than money for his children. His daughter was a Harvard graduate and Labor Secretary.

Proverbs 13:22 says, "A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children…"

3. Ambition enhances our Christian testimony.

I Peter 2:12 says, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." Most people don't respect people who are lazy. It doesn't matter how attractive or talented you are, if you coast on the job you lose your credibility, you lose your Christian testimony. But if you have a good work ethic (You show up every day; you get to work on time; you cheerfully do what you're told; you get along with your coworkers; you respect your employer.) you gain the right to be heard. That's why the Bible says in Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."

4. Ambition enables generosity.

II Corinthians 9:11 says that if you give generously "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." If your incentive is to work harder and harder so that you can accumulate more and more for yourself, eventually that will lead to a sense of futility. But if your motive is that you want to earn more so that you can give away more, then ambition is healthy and it honors God.

My brother-in-law's cousin, Jim Willoughby, worked for GE. He and his wife made a faith promise at church that was challenging enough that they needed to get some extra income. So he began playing around in his basement. He developed a superior suction cup. The little business grew to the point he had to choose between it and his job at GE. He said good-by to GE and the business continued to grow. And through it all the Willoughby's continued to give. They became sole supporters of new missions around the world. When he died, there were many tears and many visitors. Jim's ambition allowed him to be generous.

Proverbs 3:9-10 says, "9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." Ambition is healthy and needs to be encouraged.

The second lesson from Solomon is
Lesson # 2: Lack of ambition is sinful and should be resisted.

Solomon had no kind words for a lazy man. Proverbs 10:4.  "Lazy hands make a man poor…." 12:24: "…Laziness ends in slave labor." 13:4: "The sluggard craves and gets nothing..." Solomon gives several characteristics of a lazy man in the book of Proverbs.

Bob Russell said that years ago he shared these and that afternoon a girl broke up with her fiancé. She called him and said, "I just learned today he's lazy and I shouldn't marry him, and he's really ticked at you." She said, "He'll probably call you." But he never did. Bob Russell said he was too lazy to even give me a call!

OK.  Let's see some Characteristics of a Sluggard.

1. He can't get started in the morning.

Solomon said in Proverbs 19:15, "Laziness brings on deep sleep…." The sluggard's favorite invention is the snooze button. He just can't drag himself out in the morning. He can sleep until 10:30 or 11:00 regularly and not feel guilty. In college he usually misses the first hour of classes. On the job he's always late. On Sunday morning he goes to church at St. Mattress. Proverbs 6:9-11 says, "9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- 11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man."

2. He seldom finishes anything.

Proverbs 12:27: "The lazy man does not roast his game, but the diligent man prizes his possessions." In other words, the lazy man likes to hunt -that's the fun part! But cleaning the game, building a fire, roasting the food-that's the work part and it never gets done. He's got a lot of good intentions but he seldom finishes anything. So he's got a lot of unfinished projects in the basement and a lot of trouble sticking with anything.

3. He's full of excuses.

Proverbs 22:13: "The sluggard says, 'There is a lion outside!' or, 'I will be murdered in the streets!'" "Boy, I can't find a job. It's a jungle out there." "I just had to quit. It was killing me." "I didn't go in for a week. The pollen count was up and my allergies were awful." "It's Friday. Nobody works on Friday." "The Bengals are in the playoffs. How can anyone concentrate! I just won't go in!"

4. He seems to get a lot of bad breaks.

He's got a victim's mentality. Proverbs 15:19: "The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway." Nothing goes right for the lazy person. "Wouldn't you know it? There was a state trooper on the highway and I had to slow down to the speed limit.  It made me late for the interview." "The boss and I just didn't hit it off. He's a Libra; I'm a Capricorn. I should've known from the beginning." "I only drank one beer on break. Everybody else does it. I'm so unlucky I got caught."

Everybody experiences bad luck sometimes, but the lazy person brings it on himself. He never makes the connection between behavior and consequences. He thinks he's unfortunate and he's the victim, but in reality he's irresponsible.

5. He's a big talker.

Proverbs 14:23. : "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." How many times have you met the guy who talks like he is going to out-do Bill Gates, but you know he won't out-do anyone. Often a lazy person can talk a big game. He's learned how to sound impressive. But when it comes to the grind of sweating it out every day, he disappears.
6. He has unrealistic dreams.

Proverbs 28:19.  "He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty." Now it's great to have dreams. If it weren't for big ideas, we wouldn't have this church building; we wouldn't have the internet. But the lazy man dreams of easy money without any effort and his dreams are unrealistic. He's going to win the lottery. He's going to the casino and come back rich. He's going to make it in the NBA. He's going to Hollywood to be in the movies, going to Nashville to sing. But his dreams are not backed up with hard work and so they're unrealistic.

Somebody said, "The ladder of success is like any other ladder. Very few have climbed it with their hands in their pockets."

7. He gets on people's nerves.

Proverbs 10:26.  : "As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is a sluggard to those who send him." I don't think I've ever taken a swig of vinegar, but I watched a few guys who did. Their drinks had been switched by some girls they had aggravated. They didn't finish their drinks. I have had smoke in my eyes several times. It irritates and can bring tears. And if there's a goof-off that you work with, everybody knows about it. You tolerate the person, but it hurts morale.

Now if you're dating someone that has all these qualities, break it off.

If you're married to a guy like that… number one, you pray about it, and number two, you nag him like mad like the Bible says. Actually, that's not in the Bible. In fact, Solomon says in Proverbs 19:13, "…A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping." But if he's lazy he deserves it!

It is so important that parents teach their children to work. They need to teach their children the value of ambition and money. Kids who grew up on a farm had to do chores out of necessity.There was no whining or questioning. It simply had to be done. Animals needed fed and cows needed milked. There were no options but to do the work.

But in today's suburbia parents have to make an effort to train children to work and to know money. And they need to be inventive. Kids need to help do things. They need to earn things. They need to learn delayed gratification and how to live without having everything they want. And part of that training is instilling in them that lack of ambition is sinful and a healthy ambition is God-given.

One other lesson from Solomon is
Lesson # 3: Uncontrolled ambition is dangerous and must be restricted.

Ecclesiastes 7:18 says, "…The man who fears God will avoid all extremes." On the one hand we're to avoid the extreme of laziness. But on the other hand, avoid being obsessively ambitious. And I suspect the temptation to a neurotic compulsion to work is much more common.

Just as there are guardrails on a dangerous, mountain road, so there are Safeguards Against Uncontrolled Ambition.

1. Ambition must be restricted by our love for family.

Proverbs 15:27 says, "A greedy man brings trouble to his family…." Ecclesiastes 4:8 says, "There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. 'For whom am I toiling,' he asked, 'and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?' This too is meaningless-a miserable business!"

What good are all the possessions in the world if there is no time to build relationships with people you love? It's one thing if a person needs to travel with their job or be gone. You need to support the family. But there are people who will CHOOSE to travel or live at work simply because they want more than they need. The priority of the family always has to take precedence over your ambition for things or status.

2. Ambition must be restricted by our love for God.

The first restriction has to do with time. This second one has to do with integrity. Proverbs 11:18 says, "The wicked man earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward."

Did you hear about the elderly woman who was so upset because a plumber charged her $65 when he did just ten minutes work in her house. She demanded, "Why are you charging me $65?" He said, "We charge $65 an hour." She said, "You just worked ten minutes." He said, "There's a one hour minimum." So, for the next fifty minutes she put him to work raking leaves in the front yard." All kinds of ways people make deceptive wages…

Actually, that's not deceptive wages if they let you know about the minimum up front. But there are those who are not so honest and there always have been. The book of Proverbs warns against gaining wealth by treating people with cruelty, using dishonest scales, employing a double standard, changing deeds and altering documents, accepting bribes, lying, exploiting and oppressing the poor, charging exorbitant interest, and showing partiality.

Our loyalty to God should motivate us to be honest. The Christian's ambition always has to be controlled by integrity. Money isn't important enough to violate the call of God on our life. Proverbs 22:1.  "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold." Somewhere along the line we've got to decide, "What am I ambitious for? What's my primary goal in life?" Are you ambitious for the things of this world or are you ambitious for the things of God.

As a Christian your number one goal in life should not be to become a millionaire or a billionaire, but rather to go to heaven when you die and take as many people with you as you can. Your goal is not to have more and more influence for yourself. Your goal is to know Jesus Christ and to guide people to him. Then you can say with the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:12-13,
"12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

We began by mentioning everything Oprah Winfrey had going on. But we also noted the article said, "The pressures of managing all her interests have left her exhausted and eager to lighten the workload." Many are sad because Oprah is finally ending her show. But maybe she finally asked herself "How much is enough?"
Maybe her ambitions are changing. Maybe her priorities are changing. Maybe she will one day do great things for God. I don't know.

But I do know that the only things you do that will last; the only things that will matter 100 years from now will be the things we do in the name of Jesus Christ. Those are the things that will effect people for eternity. If you have Jesus, you have everything you need. There was a Puritan in prison who was given a little bread and water for the day, and he smiled and said, "All this and Jesus, too."

Be ambitious for the things that really matter, so we can say with Paul in Philippians 3:12-14, "12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

If you want to make knowing Jesus Christ your eternal ambition, we invite you to walk to the front as we sing our song of invitation today. We'll help you confess Him and be baptized into Him. Or if you've already done that and you're not yet a member of this church, we'd love to have you become a part of the fellowship here as we stand and sing.

Based on a 1/14/2001 sermon by Bob Russell of South East Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky