Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interest of the others. (NIV)

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Paul’s audience must have done a double-take when they heard the passage above. During the time of the Roman Empire, there was no shortage of people trying to accomplish incredible things, but for their own glory. Rome was a hyper-competitive society in which your pecking order was partly determined by your ability to create success. Once success was attained, they were not shy about letting everyone know. Entire families changed their names because of a success (for example, Scipio Africanus, a Roman general who got his last name after conquering Carthage, located in northern Africa). Caesar wrote entire books talking about his military accomplishments. The list goes on.  

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So why did Paul call the church to stand out from their neighbors in how they approached ambition? There are a few good reasons I can see, but one of the big ones is that he wanted to make sure the church understood that their main goal was to pursue the best interests of others and not themselves. The main reason that Paul (and God) sees ambition as an important thing for Christians to monitor in our hearts is that selfish ambition is often a prime indication that we have put ourselves first in life.

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Does that mean that ambition is toxic and there is no place for it in Christians’ lives? Of course not. In the Bible, God calls people to some lofty goals, goals bigger than the individuals would have dreamed on their own. Ambition in and of itself is not a bad thing, but Paul makes it clear that it can be.  

What are some signs that you fall more into the category of “selfish ambition” or “vain conceit”? While these are not definitive, here are some signs I’ve learned to watch for in my own life:  

1. How do you react when you fail at something? Is it disappointment that the food drive didn’t hit its goal, or indignation that your reputation is tarnished by not hitting a goal?  

2. When you succeed, are you really interested in who gets the credit? I mean, are you really interested in who gets the credit? To the point that if you don’t get the praise you deserve, you’ll walk away from the entire project/goal/team? Big red flag.  

3. No one wants to help you. People are very good at detecting if someone has ulterior motives and especially if those motives are selfish. If no one wants to help you, and you feel like it’s always up to you to do everything, you might take a step back and examine your motivations in the first place.  

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Ambition, like money, is an easy way to see where your heart is, and for that reason it’s important to watch it closely. When we share God’s vision for something, incredible ambition can spring up seemingly from nowhere. The impossible becomes doable. If those ambitions are not from God, though, and we allow envy and selfish ambition to run amuck, then we run the risk of “disorder and every evil practice” (James 3:16). Let’s choose wisely and put others first in our ambitions.  

Father, there are innumerable worthy causes and accomplishments we can pursue to win the praise of mankind. We ask that our desire would be only for your praise and that we would not seek that from others. When we undertake a cause or a goal, we pray that our desire would be to bring you praise and that we would keep none for ourselves. Amen.