FEARFULLY AMBITIOUS
Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, in order that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
~2 Corinthians 5:9-10
I’m not a huge fan of cooking, but I happen to find reality cook-off shows like Iron Chef quite fascinating and intriguing to watch. Perhaps it’s because my taste buds aren’t the most discerning (I still can’t tell when something’s too salty or too bland), and I simply get enamored by the skill and the detail that these chefs put into their craft. There are no rules; a competitor could, by his own volition, take the secret-ingredient chicken and simply deep fry it in canola oil for 10 minutes, plop it on a messy bed of white rice, drench it with soy sauce (or better-yet, honey mustard), and stick the plate in front of the judges. From what I remember, the only rule in iron chef is that they have to use the specified ingredient. But just “getting it done” is the last thing on their minds. Instead, these men and women – aspiring to be the next big thing in the culinary world – work off their creative juices and stressing themselves out to prepare a more than grandiose three-course meal that they hope would find favor with the judges. In presentation, creativity, and taste, these aspiring chefs are ambitious to prepare dishes that would be pleasing not to them, but to the panel of judges who have the prerogative to reward or discipline the competitors. In the end – win or lose – such ambition to please the judges and such anticipation for the rewards to be dispensed produce a caliber of dishes that are, to be succinct, nothing short of world-class.
We often hear people classify certain peers as “lazy” and others are “ambitious.” The reality is that every human being is ambitious. It’s not about the level of ambition, but rather the object of one’s ambition. It’s what people are ambitious for that distinguishes the direction and the character of any given person and the life that he or she lives. Those who are characteristically “lazy” people are, in fact, ambitious – just not for grades, money, or power. They’re ambitious for comfort and ease. There are others who are ambitious for scholastic or occupational success. Others are ambitious for popularity and respect. But in the end, every human being is driven by ambition. And what creates ambition is what they anticipate to be the rewards of their pursuits. A high school student, anticipating the reward of getting into Harvard and attaining the bragging rights that come with being an ivy-leaguer, becomes that ambitious scholar who his peers see as a crazy nerd and who his teachers see as a model student. A professional athlete, anticipating the glory that comes from having an Olympic gold medal around his neck, ambitiously trains and cuts out the excess fat and sugar from his diet, all the while becoming that intense competitor well-respected and feared by his colleagues. What one anticipates to be the future reward of his labor is what creates in him the ambition to live his life the way he does.
As a Christian – a blood-bought and Spirit-filled follower of Jesus – what must one be ambitious for? For too many, they are ambitious to be pleasing – only to the wrong people. Many believers strive to earn the favor of a brother or sister of the opposite gender, with the hopes of getting married. Others strive to earn the favor of the pastor, with the hopes of gaining an edge in the ministry ladder. Others strive to be pleasing to their peers, with the hopes of gaining the respect as the “godliest in church.” And yet others are simply ambitious to please themselves, doing all things in such a way that they feel satisfied with what they accomplished, “regardless of what anyone else says…as long as I know I did well.” Yet, a Christian is called to be ambitious to please not himself, or any other human being for that matter. Those who are followers of Christ are those who have as their ambition – their goal in life – to be pleasing to Christ, and no other. He makes his ambition to live a life which His Creator and Redeemer finds flavorful. In all that he does, the follower of Jesus seeks not to live for himself, but to be a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to the Lord. He is not content with living the status quo, or “just getting it done.” As a guest-pastor once said to us, he does everything to “make Jesus smile.” He is ambitious to be a pleasurable sight for His God to behold.
Yet, godly ambition in a believer is not without the anticipation of the reward. What drives the Christian to strive for what he does with such fervency, focus, and faithfulness is the both exciting and fearful prospect of being rewarded eternally for everything – yes, EVERYTHING – that he has done during his temporal stay on earth. When he considers the fact that he will be called to give an account for all of his words, deeds, and decisions before the living and sovereign God who eternally rewards those who seek Him, the last thing he will seek is to gratify immediate desires. It is a lie from Satan that those who are most heavenly-minded are those who are of no earthly good. Quite frankly, the Holy Spirit says the opposite: Those who are most heavenly-minded are those who are will be of most earthly-good. A Christian will live a present life pleasing to God when he is controlled by a future anticipation of being rewarded by God. It is the prospect of seeing God and gaining eternal treasures from Him that daily kindles his fire for present faithfulness.
You, who believe, stay faithful till the end. Seek His pleasure and not yours nor anyone else’s. Remember that everything that you need to know to be pleasing to His sight has been written for you in His Word and modeled for you through His Son. Let your future anticipation fuel your present ambition. For the Lord is not so unkind as to forget the things that you do for Him and His kingdom.
