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| Ambition (1 Thessalonians 4:11) |
Dear Members of the Our Savior Lutheran Church Email Prayer Chain,AmbitionMake it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands.--1 Thessalonians 4:11Quaint, right? Be honest; read today's verse and then try telling your children that such is all they should aspire to; that, essentially, unheralded blue collar work should be their ambition. Aim high? Sounds more like settling for anonymity. What could Paul be getting at? Sure there are times we all grow tired of the rat race and perhaps dream about a scenario where we forsake the city and a high-pressure job for a more pastoral setting, crafting furniture and knick-knacks, living in harmony. Is that what this verse is getting at? Let's look deeper. The Greek word philotim means to labor, endeavor, strive, study to become. It is used in three places in the New Testament. The first is quoted above, regarding ambition, which sounds not much like what we typically imagine when we think of things to be ambitious about. Another place the word appears is Romans 15:20, where Paul writes, "And thus I aspired to preach the gospel..." In 2 Corinthians 5:9 we read, "We have as our ambition... to be pleasing to Him." Contrast these goals with the first defitinion under "ambition" on Dictionary.com: 1. an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment. I thought so. The more I study, the more I philotim to know God, the more I understand how different the Word and the world really are. Perhaps folks who live in other parts of the globe are less shocked to learn such lessons. For me, born, raised, working, and raising children in these United States, the lesson is always one of dichotomy, paradox, and sadly wondering if I'm handicapped beyond repair from truly following. A business man friend of mine is fond of saying that in business, it's crucial to determine early on whether a person you are dealing with is a "make me rich" or a "make me famous" person. Everyone, the story goes, is either one or the other at heart. And truly, according to the world's definition of ambition, that makes sense. We all have something we want that drives us. Lately I've been wondering a lot at where this has gotten me. Everything I have done, accomplished, purposed, learned, studied (i.e. "philotim-ed") in life has led to... what, exactly? What goal? When I pray that the Lord would make my life useful and provide for me and let me know His will and keep me safe it's all so... what? So I can watch my TV programs every night without acid in my stomach and with an easy feeling in my chest? As opposed to having to really live by faith? Today I read this quote by the English poet Samuel Johnson: "To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition." Instantly my face fell. I knew that feeling all too well. All my aspirations only lead to the place of comfort, happiness, the path of least resistance. What's wrong with that? It quickly becomes a place that feels too far from God, too self-centered, too out of the loop, too far removed to be making a real difference. So what then is the ambition of the Christ-follower?
It's so simple, almost too simple. Ambition isn't something far out there, some unabashed worldly success beyond our dreams, though that's where God may take us. It all goes back to the very reason God made man in the first place - to have someone to know Him. And there's just not anything quaint about that. REFLECTIONThe bulleted points above might sound too easy, too simple. And they can be. But when was the last time you made any or all of these your ambition? Pick one and practice it today, perhaps preaching the gospel to someone, perhaps seeking God's pleasure more than your own in any decisions you make.PRAYER REQUESTS -- Week of February 21, 2010FOR THOSE WHO LOOK TO THE LORD FOR HEALINGDave Sheldon [Terry Lindgren’s Uncle] Diagnosed with Hepatitis C and Liver CancerElma Frick Recovering from a fractured vertebrae Steve Lindgren Diagnosed with serious stomach problem, complicated with diabetes Inge Kaultiz Recovering from surgery on a broken hip Melanie Flener Mom o f OSLS Preschool child who sustained a head injury from a fall last Sunday Pastor Don Dengler Diagnosed with advanced lung cancer Johanne Thonney [Friend of Kathy Baki] 25-year old diagnosed recovering from brain surgery FOR THE NEEDS OF THE CHURCHAs we look forward to a Congregation Meeting, Sunday, February 28th, please lift up our Youth Ministry. Pray that the Holy Spirit would be at work in each of us to show us our assignment in ministering to the youth of Our Savior."Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other. But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time." 1 Kings 8:56-61 In Christ, Paul Nickel Director of Christian Education Our Savior Lutheran Church |