“Ambition” This is the weekly email devotional of WhoUWith? Ministries (2004)   “Ambition is that grit in the soul which creates disenchantment with the ordinary and puts dare into dreams.” –Max Lucado Being ambitious in pursuing God’s best for your life is an awesome trait for us to have. However, being ambitious in the pursuit of what we feel is best for our life is a whole other story. Lucado is on to something, in the quote above, when he says that ambition “creates disenchantment with the ordinary”. How can we serve an extraordinary God and be content with an ordinary life? What does God’s Word say?: Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 Wait a minute. Doesn’t this verse encourage living an ordinary (“quiet”) life? No, this is not referring to living in mundane silence. It is encouraging us to walk out our faith. St. Augustine probably put it as well as anyone could when he said, “Preach Jesus and, if necessary, use words”. Living the “quiet life and mind(ing) our own business” means we have our life in order, we live with a purpose and a plan, and we are striving to live in obedience to Christ. We are ambitious in pleasing Almighty God. Could it possibly be that respect and independence are two of the top motivators of worldly ambition? Unfortunately, too many individuals are driven by a self-centered ambition that leaves them with little respect from their peers and dependent on their friends. Godly ambition is the only way to experience true respect and independence. Don’t allow your life to be ordinary. Today is a great day to begin to pursue Christ with reckless ambition. Dare to dream beyond the common…dare to reach for the extraordinary future that God has for each of us. He only requires a little ambition! Just a thought! Just a thought!