I think a lot about people who see little to no connection between God and the church. Some believe in a higher power, but are not convinced this is the God of the Bible. Some are confused and disillusioned by religious arguments and accusations, doctrinal debates, and self-righteous judgmentalism aimed at them. Finally, some weaponize this religious noise to block, dismiss, and undermine any effort to communicate faith in the public square. 

But making God audible is my ambition.

My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.

Romans 15:20 NLT

Yes, ambition can be good. In the last edition of The Chemistry Lab, we started to understand the dangerous progression of selfish ambition. We observed that it is at the root of the spiritual disorder and social decay in our world today. I told you that I am an expert in selfish ambition and the pain it causes. But years of personal struggle have taught me that God can transform our ambitions. That’s why we also hypothesized that spiritual ambition rooted in God’s love creates peace, humility, and healing.

Today, we will run an experiment to test this hypothesis and learn to turn selfish ambition into spiritual ambition. As a reminder, we are following the scientific method to tackle this issue:

• Observation: Noticing things about ourselves that cause us to question the patterns we see in the world.
• Hypothesis: Proposing an explanation of what’s going on in the world using the Scriptures.
• Experiment: Testing our hypothesis by looking at the Bible and asking ourselves deep questions.
• Analysis: Making sense of our answers by looking at data and at the life of Jesus.
• Conclusion: Going forward with new clarity about what’s going on in the world and what we can do about it. 

My ambition to make God audible is an uphill climb, but worth the effort. The truth about God is so much simpler, clearer, and more powerful than most people think. Inside of me, there is a faith and optimism that if people can just have the opportunity to engage the Scriptures—unfiltered by the behavioral religiosity that obscures the truth about God—they will discover God for themselves. 

This is the purpose I would not be fulfilling if I had allowed selfish ambition to determine my destiny. 

Before we start our experiment on how to change our ambition from selfish to spiritual, let’s discover what spiritual ambition is.

What is spiritual ambition?

My eyes were first opened to the possibility of changing my ambitions through conversations with my best friend, Scott, when we were in college. He had been a Christian longer than I had, and we were both young leaders in the ministry. He helped me understand that we each must choose between being what we called “prophets or presidents.” Prophets in the Bible played an essential role in God’s plan, but they were not often lauded by the people around them. Their ambition was to make God known, whether they were praised or penalized, loved or hated. 

Choosing to be a “prophet” rather than a “president” meant an end to being driven by roles, positions, and competitions—all things I had relied on to demonstrate my worth and earn attention. Without them, I felt lost. These discussions began my process of reprioritizing my motivations. 

Decades since those conversations with Scott, I have made many discoveries. The most important of these is that on too many occasions, selfish ambition is used to motivate people like me who are in the ministry. This same ambition often motivates politicians, business leaders, students, and a host of other people without consideration for the culture it creates.

Ambition is good, but it must be unselfish, and humans can’t sustain unselfish ambition for very long without God. That’s why our ambition must be not just unselfish but spiritual, generated from a relationship with the God of love. Jesus exemplified how that life of ambition should be lived.

Jesus defines spiritual ambition for us.

Jesus was the most ambitious person to ever walk the earth. His ambition? To save the entire world. Regardless of your beliefs, consider the scope of what he set out to accomplish—rescuing all of humanity from spiritual death and giving them a full life:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

John 10:10 NIV

He described this ultimate ambition in John 12, before he died on the cross:

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. [24] Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

John 12:23-24 NIV

Many people don’t see Jesus as ambitious. They see the Jesus of religious tradition—a lifeless symbol. But Jesus had plenty of spiritual ambition, as described in the lyrics of the song “Secret Ambition” by Michael W. Smith:

Nobody knew his secret ambition
Nobody knew his claim to fame
He broke the old rules steeped in tradition
He tore the holy veil away
Questioning those in powerful positions
Running to those who called his name
But nobody knew his secret ambition
Was to give His life away.

“Secret Ambition,” Michael W. Smith

Jesus’s ambition was free of the corroding influence of selfishness, and later we will learn how he developed and maintained his pure motives. He shows us that a true relationship with God frees us from the destructive and limiting effects of selfish ambition and allows us to experience our limitless spiritual nature:

But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless. 

Galatians 5:22-23 TPT

The apostle Paul understood this spiritual ambition, writing about it in the book of Philippians:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Philippians 3:12 NIV

Spiritual ambition drives us to pursue a purpose greater than ourselves. In the Psalms, David reminds us that this purpose begins at conception:

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 

Psalm 139:16 NIV

Whether we’re young and hopeful or old and seasoned, God’s invitation remains the same:

For you have been my hope, Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. [6] From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you. [7] I have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge. [8] My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long. [9] Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. 

Psalm 71:5-9 NIV

Let’s run our experiment: What if we could categorize human ambition into six distinct types, each with its own potential catalyst to become spiritual? What would we discover about which ambitions build and which ones destroy? What would we discover about our hypothesis that selfish ambition produces spiritual disorder and social decay, but spiritual ambition rooted in God’s love creates peace, humility, and healing?

In this experiment, we will look at six people in the Bible who experienced various types of ambition. Some changed their ambition from selfish to spiritual, some remained the same and faced consequences, while others set an inspiring example for us who strive for purposeful ambition. Within each example, I’ll provide the person’s motivation for their ambition, a scripture highlight, and questions to reflect on, along with the personal decisions we can make to experience transformation ourselves.

Notebooks open. Let’s see what we can learn today.

Selfish ambition: How Saul’s insecurity led him away from God

Motivation: 

Saul began his journey to becoming king humbly. But once he was in that position, Saul’s fear of rejection led him to use selfish ambition as a way to gain security instead of developing an intimate, trusting, and powerful relationship with God.

Scripture: 

Then [Samuel] brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the LORD, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. And finally Saul son of Kish was chosen from among them. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared! [22] So they asked the LORD, “Where is he?” And the LORD replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.” [23] So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else. [24] Then Samuel said to all the people, “This is the man the LORD has chosen as your king. No one in all Israel is like him!” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

1 Samuel 10:21-24 NLT

In these verses, the prophet Samuel was announcing to Israel who their first king would be. But once they got to Saul, the chosen one, they couldn’t find him. Saul’s decision to “hide among the baggage” revealed his insecurity, which reigned in his heart throughout his kingship and ultimately led to his downfall. Saul’s insecurity made him afraid of rejection, and he became self-consumed in his efforts to protect himself (1 Sam 15:12, 1 Sam 15:24, 1 Sam 18:6-12).  

My personal lab results: 

1. What are your insecurities—those things which cause you to think no one will ever love, respect, or want to be with you?
2. What situations, opportunities, or relationships surface those insecurities most consistently?
3.  How do these insecurities and fears cause you to forget or ignore God, leading into the selfish ambition cycle we discussed in the last edition?
4. What role do you think God can play in helping you make peace with your insecurities to conquer the corrupting influence of selfish ambition?

My next steps: King Saul was replaced by David. Saul was consumed by his selfish ambition and never recovered. David was different, and he can help us discover the path to overcoming selfish ambition by relying on God.

And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king: of him He testified and said, ‘I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY OWN HEART [conforming to My will and purposes], who will do all My will.’

Acts 13:22 AMP

David provides us with a roadmap for overcoming the selfish ambition that consumed and destroyed King Saul and his family. The solution is a devotion to God so complete that our hearts become inspired by knowing and pleasing him. We conform to his will and purpose because we know that life with him is beautiful (Romans 8:28 VOICE). 

Dormant ambition: How Nehemiah’s heart woke up 

Motivation: 

Nehemiah was in captivity under the Persian king Artaxerxes, serving as the king’s cupbearer. His fellow Jews who had returned to Jerusalem were defeated and experiencing disgrace, but Nehemiah was safe, prosperous, and successful.

Any ambition he had to serve God or his people was likely muted by a fear of risk. He knew the safety he would lose if he were to step forward and lead. With his own safety provided for, Nehemiah could afford to be emotionally detached from the needs of his people.

Our fear of risk can make us mute our ambition to know, serve, or lead for God. As a result, our ambition to make a difference for good and God will lie dormant. This is exactly where Nehemiah was until he made the pivotal decision to awaken his dormant ambition to serve God.

Scripture: 

They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its [fortified] gates have been burned (destroyed) by fire.” [4] Now it came about when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying [constantly] before the God of heaven.

Nehemiah 1:3-4 AMP

Nehemiah’s dormant ambition awoke when his heart awoke. He allowed himself to feel grief and pain for God and others, leaving apathy behind. As a result, he was able to access his desire to do good, which was much greater than his desire to stay safe. 

My personal lab results:

1. When was the last time you accessed your desire and drive to do good by making a difference and creating change in the world?
2. What has caused you to suppress your desire and drive to do good, make a difference, or create change in the world?
3. Consider the life of Nehemiah in the passage above and by studying chapters 1-2 of the book of Nehemiah. How did his relationship with God awaken his dormant ambition?
4. How could you turn to God so he can awaken your dormant ambition? What can you do to let him awaken your heart so that you are no longer apathetic to the needs around you, but will instead go to work changing your life, others’ lives, and the world?

My next steps: 

So I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days. [12] Then I got up in the night, I and a few men with me. I did not tell anyone what my God was putting in my heart to do for Jerusalem, and there was no animal with me except the one on which I was riding [so as not to attract attention].

Nehemiah 2:11-12 AMP

Nehemiah stopped listening to his human and sinful nature, which encouraged him to live only for his own safety. He overcame his fear of risk by placing his faith in God. Once his faith was in God, he was able to see and understand the plan God had laid on his heart. Awakening our dormant ambition begins by replacing our fear of risk with faith in God, then listening and looking for the path by which we can advance God’s cause to the best of our ability.

Passive ambition: How Moses overcame his fear of failure 

Motivation: 

By the end of his life, Moses was arguably the greatest leader of Israel, but he didn’t start off that way. He began his journey by attempting to be the nation’s hero and instead became a murderer (Exodus 2:11-14). Having been trained in leadership in the Egyptian court, his motivation was helping the people of Israel his way, which ultimately manifested as selfish ambition and led to failure.

After this, Moses went on the run, fleeing the penalty for murder (Exodus 2:15). He became a shepherd, far from the power and political intrigue of the Egyptian court. He forgot about rescuing Israel and focused on his own life—survival, prosperity, and safety. 

Just when Moses had gotten comfortable in his new life of anonymity, God called to him from the now-famous burning bush (Exodus 3:1-4). God commanded Moses to go and lead Israel in Exodus 3-4, but Moses was not in the “going” mood. He no longer wanted to be a hero. 

Scripture: 

Moses said to the LORD, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” [11] The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? [12] Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” [13] But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”

Exodus 4:10-13 NIV

At this point, Moses’s ambition had become passive—he only wanted to do what would make him happy. All the “hero” was gone. His only ambition was for himself and his comfort because he feared failure.

My personal lab results: 

1. When was the last time you tried to do something heroic, but failed?
2. How did that failure affect your desire or drive to make a difference?
3. In what areas has your fear of failure caused you to say “no” to God rather than “yes”?
4. Passive ambition is rooted in selfishness. How can you turn your passive ambition into an active ambition motivated by serving God and doing good?

My next steps:

“This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. [36] He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.

Acts 7:35-36 NIV

Moses overcame his fear of failure and changed the world. This is a lesson for us all. Fear can make us passive, causing us to ignore the important ways we can serve God in achieving his purposes. 

At the core, fear of failure leads us to live for self-preservation rather than service. We build our entire lives around ourselves rather than God and others. We become consumed by selfishness not because we are inherently selfish, but because we have trained ourselves to be afraid. We remember the pain of failure and never want to experience it again.

What we can miss about our lives yet learn from Moses is that both his failure and his time as a shepherd served as the perfect training experience for learning to lead people. His sin of murder teaches us that failure isn’t fatal in the eyes of God, regardless of what people think. Finally, we should learn the difference between Moses being in “hero mode” and “shepherd mode.” When he was in hero mode, he was relying on himself, but in shepherd mode, he learned to rely on God.

Breaking free from the passive ambition of selfishness will open the door to more spiritual forms of ambition, which we discuss in the next three biblical examples.

Quiet ambition: How Joshua made others great 

Motivation: 

As Moses’s assistant (Numbers 11:28), Joshua possessed the quiet ambition of being happy to be second, wanting to make the person up front successful. This type of ambition is essential to great marriages, families, teams, organizations, and even nations. Yet it is so rare. 

Joshua had been with Moses since his youth and was content to be his assistant, doing whatever that role required. Although others sought to take leadership from Moses or gain power by being associated with him, we see zero interest or effort on the part of Joshua to do the same.

What is interesting is that this quiet ambition is clearly one of the reasons God chose Joshua to become Moses’s successor. This is because Joshua’s quiet ambition was moderated and disciplined by a deep spirituality; Joshua would worship God in the tent of meeting with Moses, but when Moses left, Joshua remained behind (Exodus 33:11). He was building his own relationship with God, which caused God to trust him as the leader to succeed Moses.  

Quiet ambition is one of the highest, purest, and most powerful forms of ambition. It should serve as the foundation for all other rightly motivated ambitions. Once we grow comfortable with and even desire quiet ambition, we can expect God to use us in new, different, and possibly more powerful ways, just as he used Joshua. 

But remember this, true quiet ambition doesn’t want the limelight! As we read earlier, Saul hid because he was insecure, but his desire for approval consumed him. Joshua could have followed the same path; we know he had fears about taking on a visible leadership role because God commanded him many times to be courageous. Joshua had big shoes to fill, but he chose to seek a deeper intimacy with God rather than succumbing to any fears of inadequacy. 

Scripture:

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. [8] Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. [9] Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:7-9 NIV

Joshua’s relationship with God gave him the courage to step into a more visible leadership role without being corrupted by insecurity, fear of inadequacy, or selfish ambition. 

Personal lab results: 

1. Do you have the capacity to practice quiet ambition? When was the last time you were willing to be second or third so someone else could be first?
2. What insecurities or fears of inadequacy tempt you to turn the quiet ambition of making others great into the selfish ambition of making only you great?
3. If you’re the type of person who is content to be second, do you have any fears about joining Joshua in growing from a secondary to a more visible role? What are your fears about being seen and heard more often?
4. Why do you think a person with quiet ambition must be encouraged to be strong and courageous when taking on more leadership? How could you better serve God by becoming stronger and more courageous to take on more responsibility?

Next steps: 

Quiet ambition prepares us for leadership so that when the time comes for us to be the ones making the decisions, we work well with others. This was true of Joshua, and we see it in his interaction with one of his peers, Caleb. 

Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who had returned from the promised land with a faithful and optimistic report, while all others communicated a pessimistic report (Numbers 14:5-9). During this time, Caleb was singled out as faithful by God (Numbers 14:24). He and Joshua were the only two in their generation to enter the promised land (Numbers 14:30). Caleb was a great warrior, yet it was Joshua who was chosen to lead Israel in place of Moses. Years later, Caleb questioned Joshua about a promise God had made him:

“Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! [11] I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. [12] Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” [13] Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.

Joshua 14:10-13 NIV

As we can see in Joshua 14, Joshua’s quiet ambition surfaced when Caleb asked for his promise from God. A more selfish or corrupted ambition might have made Joshua insecure or competitive with Caleb, but instead, Joshua was pleased to be able to confirm God’s great vision and promise for Caleb’s life.

Those with a heart of quiet ambition are team players. This makes them more effective as leaders;  they know how to lead because they have learned how to follow. This is evidenced by Joshua not trying to take all the limelight for himself. As the leader of Israel, he allowed Caleb’s value to shine rather than casting shadows over it.

What’s next for you and me? We must seek the heart of quiet ambition so that if God decides to give us more responsibility, we will handle it with the spiritual wisdom and generosity of Joshua. He made others better rather than focusing only on himself.

Noble ambition: How Paul’s status-seeking turned into service

Motivation:  

Before he met Jesus, the apostle Paul was ambitious. As noted in Galatians, he was advancing beyond most of his peers as a member of the Pharisees, a prominent and influential religious sect at the time (Galatians 1:13-14). To him and the people around him, his ambitions were noble. He wanted to do what was right by God. In his mind, persecuting the church Jesus built was the best way he could do that, and he was great at it. 

But Paul’s motivations weren’t completely pure. His resume was filled with status symbols of all types (Philippians 3:4-6). Status was his motivation, driven by the underlying fear of being wrong. Ironically, Jesus showed up and fulfilled this fear. He told Paul that he was wrong, and that it was time to make a decision to follow Jesus (Acts 9:4-16). This is when Paul became a Christian.  

Paul’s fierce passion as a Pharisee was visible because of his intense ambition and certainty, which is why he had to be physically blinded and sit for three days after this interaction with Jesus. It seems that it took several days before he fully relinquished his will and way to God. Ananias, a believer who brought God’s message of destiny to Paul after those three days, had to ask, “What are you waiting for?” (Acts 22:16). Apparently, it was difficult for Paul to acknowledge that he was wrong even after seeing Jesus.

When being wrong is one of our biggest fears, the realization of it happening can hurl our lives into confusion and chaos. Religious people like Paul are particularly prone to misguided ambition and focusing on being right instead of being obedient and pleasing to God.

What Paul had to do was purify his ambition from status-seeking and selfishness. This clearly happened when he became a Christian. Once the purification of his motives took place, his ambition changed from selfish to truly noble. In this case, that meant being obedient and pleasing to God and passionate about his purposes.

Scripture: 

But whatever former things were gains to me [as I thought then], these things [once regarded as advancements in merit] I have come to consider as loss [absolutely worthless] for the sake of Christ [and the purpose which He has given my life]. [8] But more than that, I count everything as loss compared to the priceless privilege and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord [and of growing more deeply and thoroughly acquainted with Him—a joy unequaled]. For His sake I have lost everything, and I consider it all garbage, so that I may gain Christ…

Philippians 3:7-8 AMP

Paul allowed God to change his mind about what he should be striving for. What Paul once viewed as advancements in merit began to look insignificant compared to the surpassing value of knowing Jesus. Rather than viewing these achievements as losses in God’s sight, he learned to see them as tools—only useful when they serve to make God known. Once he let God purify his ambition, he developed the noble ambition of being close to God and helping others do the same.

Personal lab results: 

1. What “status symbols” do you value?
2. How has your pursuit of status diminished your love for and obedience to God?
3. Why is it that when we gain status, it becomes more difficult to admit we are wrong? When has your desire to maintain your status kept you from admitting you were wrong?
4. What do you learn from Paul’s life that can help you purify your status ambition and turn it into a noble ambition?

Next steps: 

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. [10] But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10 NIV

Paul’s desire for status, attention, position, importance, and relevance was replaced by his gratitude for what God had done for him. He was so inspired by the grace he received from the cross and resurrection of Jesus that it became more important to him than everything else.  

His passion became service to God and seeking the attention of God. He found satisfaction from the position of being in a relationship with God and found his importance in the love and purposes of God. He derived his relevance from the knowledge that God was pleased with his life. The next step for all of us is to learn from Paul how to turn status ambition into noble ambition so that God can use us to change lives and the world.

Spiritual Ambition: How Jesus got his power and motivation from God

Motivation: 

Jesus is always intimidating to consider as a role model because he was perfect. But it might be more accurate to say he was without sin rather than perfect because Jesus experienced human weakness just like us and was tempted in every way we are (Hebrews 4:14-16).

The key to the sinlessness of Jesus was not his human effort but his spiritual motivation. His motivation was so pure that it gave him the power to resist temptation. His motivation was not to pursue personal glory, but to glorify God (John 5:41-44, John 7:16-18, John 8:50). 

Attempts to corrupt this motivation were a central line of attack on Jesus. This should serve as both a reminder and inspiration to us about the power of pure motivations or what we can call spiritual ambitions.

Spiritual ambitions are those that lead us away from sin, not into it. They inspire us to serve others, not merely serve ourselves. When someone has spiritual ambition, they live, work, and possess a purpose greater than themselves. The Bible describes this as seeking God and his kingdom first (Matthew 6:33). 

Becoming like Jesus is imitating his heart and motivation. We do this by finding the power to resist the lures of the world to corrupt our ambition.

Scripture: 

Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, [2] where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.

Luke 4:1-2 NLT

Personal lab results:

1. How seriously do you take your temptations?
2. Why was it so important for Jesus to experience temptation?
3. What temptations do you face that threaten the purity of your motives?
4. In what ways could you imitate Jesus’s motivations?

Next steps:

Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [6] “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. [7] I will give it all to you if you will worship me.” [8] Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the LORD your God and serve only him.'”

Luke 4:5-8 NLT

Jesus came to Earth with a mission to save all humanity. This would be accomplished not through his considerable power, but through his death on the cross, through embracing the weakness of being human, then relying on God to deliver him.

This left Jesus vulnerable to a great temptation: the fear of powerlessness. He was a human with the power of God at his fingertips, but he was not going to use it. So the devil offered him another way, a different type of power, the power to control the world. This would provide another path to saving the world — one that wouldn’t require him to experience suffering, pain, or powerlessness.

What Jesus did instead was conquer the fear of powerlessness. He resisted the temptation to be motivated by the pursuit of power or control and instead chose to rely on God. In doing this, he allowed the world to see the greatness of God and gave them a chance to believe.

We need to understand that our desires for power and control could perhaps be our greatest temptations. This is especially true for leaders, but it applies to everyone; every human seeks control for confidence, security, and peace. We must resist these desires for power and control and instead place our faith and absolute trust in God. Rather than fearing the vulnerability of powerlessness, we will increase our confidence in the love and power of God to rescue and deliver us.

When we live with this purity of motivation, we develop spiritual ambition. We are ready and willing to use all of our talents, resources, and efforts to advance the velocity of hope through the gospel so it can reach every human being possible. In so doing, we will allow anyone to live the best life possible—a beautiful life, here and for eternity.

After examining Saul, Nehemiah, Moses, Joshua, Paul, and Jesus, here’s what our lab analysis reveals:

• Three destructive elements (selfish, dormant, and passive ambition): These create spiritual and social decay. But they can be transformed into spiritual ambition by following the roadmap in Scripture.
• The constructive elements (quiet, noble, and spiritual ambition): These ambitions, rooted in God’s love, create peace, humility, and healing. 
• The critical discovery: Most people think the solution to selfish ambition is no ambition. Wrong. The antidote to toxic ambition isn’t the absence of drive—it’s the right kind of drive.

The diagnostic question: 

As always, I would love to hear from you. Which type of ambition currently drives your life?

• Do you find yourself constantly comparing, competing, and accumulating achievements or possessions? These are signs of selfish ambition.
• Have you checked out, convinced that nothing really matters? This is a sign of dormant ambition.
• Are you playing it safe, avoiding anything that might fail? This is a sign of passive ambition.
• Are you faithfully serving without needing recognition? This is a sign of quiet ambition.
• Are you fighting for justice and positive change? This is a sign of noble ambition.
• Are you pursuing God so passionately that you inspire others to do the same? This is a sign of spiritual ambition. 

The Chemistry Lab conclusion: Every believer needs at least quiet ambition to live out God’s purposes. But the world desperately needs more people with spiritual ambition—those whose relationship with God becomes so transformative it awakens potential in everyone around them.

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