What Are You Really Climbing For?
As a young professional, the world is your oyster. The possibilities for your career are endless; you’re ready to make your mark. But somewhere between Sunday morning church and Monday morning’s performance review, you start to feel conflicted. You know life isn’t about getting the best job or making the most money. Still, you feel a rush when you’re offered that new job or promotion. Is there a way to climb the corporate ladder while honoring the Lord?
Gentle and Lowly: Jesus’ Example
Pride, vanity, and greed aren’t sins to play with. Many of us know that. Jesus’ time on earth shows us that righteousness and recognition don’t always go hand in hand. In fact, Jesus describes himself as “gentle and lowly” and tells us to learn from him to “find rest for your souls.” Is it possible to be gentle, lowly, and ambitious? Or gentle, lowly, and influential? The short answer is, yes. But you have to check your motivations.
A Tale of Two Cities (no, not the Dickens ones)
Genesis provides a clear example of ambition gone wrong. Noah's descendants settle on a plain and devise a plan:
“Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth. - Genesis 11:4
God’s response to their plan? Scatter them over the face of the whole earth. Kind of funny, right? And on top of that, he confused their language. Their ambitions were evil, put to a stop by the Lord himself.
But it’s important to note that it wasn’t the desire to build a city that was evil. In fact, we will spend eternity in a city: the Holy City. As Revelation 21:2 bears witness, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”
As John Mark Comer explains in his book Garden City, the arc from Eden to the Holy City tells us something important: ambition and innovation aren’t inherently bad.
Comer says, “When you think of Eden, don’t think of a public park with a lawn, a play set, and a flowerbed or two… Think of a violent, untamed wilderness, teeming with beauty, but no infrastructure, no roads, no bridges, no cities, no civilization, and God says, “Go make a world.”
So, if God wants us to “make a world,” why did He scatter the people trying to build a city in Genesis 11? It’s that one sentence: “. . . so that we may make a name for ourselves.”
The people twisted their God-given ability to imagine and create by using those gifts solely to boost their own egos. Their plans were devoid of love for God or others.
Contrast this with the Holy City we will one day reside in.
“Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” - Revelation 19:6-7
When Jesus returns, there will be enthusiastic praise to the Lord. Holy ambition leads to worshipping God. Sinful ambition leads to worshipping ourselves.
So, About that Promotion . . .
Tim Keller defined work as “rearranging the raw material of God’s creation in such a way that it helps the world in general, and people in particular, thrive and flourish.”
Reflect on that definition and then reflect on your work. Are you trying to provide your family with a comfortable life? Do you love what you do and want to push yourself to gain more skills and responsibility? Ambitions like these can bring honor to God; it’s that desire to help others “thrive and flourish,” whether it’s our family or society at large.
But if you put the magnifying glass up to your heart and realize your main motivations are gaining status, salary, or a sense of superiority, take a pause. You don’t have to abandon your ambition, but you probably need to reframe it.
Faith and Finance Perspective
Picture yourself at the end of your career: Maybe you have a corner office, a hefty salary, or respect in your industry. What will you be most proud of? The work you did, the way you provided for your family, or how high you lifted your own name? Work is good. Ambition can be too. But as you look upwards from the bottom rung of that corporate ladder, carefully consider where you’re climbing and whom you’re climbing for.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
- 2 Corinthians 10:5