This article is a reprint of an article by Pastor Steven Furtick. I felt that it was an awesome article and I agree with it so much that I had to share.........
Steven Furtick is the Lead Pastor of Elevation Church, an incredible move of God in Charlotte, NC with more than 9,000 in attendance each week among (soon-to-be) six locations. He is the author of the book, Sun Stand Still. He lives in Charlotte with his wife Holly and their three children, Elijah, Graham and Abbey.
Leadership
Character: Ambition vs. Arrogance
Steven Furtick: "If
you’re never accused of being arrogant, you’re [probably] not being ambitious
enough."
There’s a word many
Christians are afraid of. It’s almost a bad word. If you have it, many people
assume it means you’re self-serving. Power hungry. But most of
all, arrogant.
I’m talking about ambition.
It’s almost like if you
want to excel at something or do big things with your life or organization,
then you must have a God-complex. An all too elevated sense of self-importance.
There’s no denying that
that’s definitely true in the case of some people. But I also fear that our
fear of ambition is severely limiting other people who have been called to do
great things for God. Why should we put a cap on their potential because some people can’t put a cap on
their pride?
I’ve seen too many
pastors settle for reaching hundreds when God called them to reach thousands.
I’ve seen too many talented businessmen stop short of the impact God had called
them to make on their field. All because they feared being thought of as
ambitious.
So let’s clear this up
once and for all: nowhere in
the Bible is ambition condemned. Selfish ambition is definitely warned against. But ambition for the
sake of God’s glory is not only condoned—it’s commended. It’s a required asset
for anyone wanting to rise above the mass of men and do something
extraordinary.
Ambition led Noah to
build the ark. David to expand the borders of Israel. Solomon to build the
Temple. Nehemiah to rebuild the walls. Paul to spread the gospel to the ends of
the Earth.
I wonder if people
accused them of being arrogant? Maybe. But then again, if you’re never
accused of being arrogant, it’s probably a sign that you’re not being ambitious
enough. You’re dreaming
too small. Your goals are too easily attainable.
Let me free you: it’s OK
to want to be the best at what you do. It’s OK to want to achieve as much as
you can with your life for the sake of the God who gave it to you. I sincerely
doubt God is going to look at you at the end of your life and say, “You
did too much for me.” But I do
sincerely believe that God is going to look at many people and say, “You were
too 'humble' for your own good and the good of countless people you could have
impacted if you'd had a little more ambition.”
Don’t let anyone ever tell you that ambition is synonymous with
arrogance. Godly ambition is
what God uses to do incredible things in our world.
If that makes you look
arrogant, don’t back down from what God has called you to do. Instead, mourn
for the people who are living so far beneath their potential that anything
greater must be arrogance.
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