Category
110 Bible verses about Ambition
Ambition. It's something we all wrestle with, isn't it? The Bible speaks a lot about it, both as something to be careful of and something we can use for good. It's a tricky thing to navigate.
Scripture encourages us to be humble and put God first, not our own earthly desires. Proverbs 21:251 talks about how dangerous unchecked ambition can be – how it can lead to laziness and a lack of drive to actually do the work. It's a good reminder to check our hearts.
Jesus also talked about ambition. He told his disciples to seek God's kingdom first and foremost, to trust that everything else will fall into place (Matthew 6:33). It makes me think about what I'm truly striving for. Am I chasing after God's will, or my own?
It's so important to examine our motivations. What's driving our goals and dreams? Are they lining up with God's purpose for our lives? I think we should all strive for a healthy ambition, one that's focused on loving and serving God and others. When we seek His will, we find a real sense of fulfillment, something way deeper than any achievement or possession could ever give us.
to choose work that allows you to be tranquil, and to carry out your business and to do your work with your own hands, just as we have instructed you,
Let nothing be done by contention, nor in vain glory. Instead, in humility, let each of you esteem others to be better than himself.For he was brought close even to death, for the sake of the work of Christ, handing over his own life, so that he might fulfill what was lacking from you concerning my service.Let each of you not consider anything to be your own, but rather to belong to others.
But others, out of contention, announce Christ insincerely, claiming that their difficulties lift them up to my chains.
"Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre: Thus says the Lord God: Because your heart has been exalted, and you have said, 'I am God, and I sit in the chair of God, in the heart of the sea,' though you are a man, and not God, and because you have presented your heart as if it were the heart of God:
But he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?"And they said, "Grant to us that we may sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your glory."
And they said: "Come, let us make a city and a tower, so that its height may reach to heaven. And let us make our name famous before we are divided into all the lands."
And you said in your heart: 'I will climb up to heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will be enthroned upon the mountain of the covenant, on the northern parts.I will ascend above the tops of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.'
No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will have hatred for the one, and love the other, or he will persevere with the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
For how does it benefit a man, if he gains the whole world, and yet causes harm to his soul?
And we too were all conversant in these things, in times past, by the desires of our flesh, acting according to the will of the flesh and according to our own thoughts. And so we were, by nature, sons of wrath, even like the others.
Be of the same mind toward one another: not savoring what is exalted, but consenting in humility. Do not choose to seem wise to yourself.
For all that is in the world is the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the arrogance of a life which is not of the Father, but is of the world.
So he said to them: "Be cautious and wary of all avarice. For a person's life is not found in the abundance of the things that he possesses."
But if you hold a bitter zeal, and if there is contention in your hearts, then do not boast and do not be liars against the truth.For this is not wisdom, descending from above, but rather it is earthly, beastly, and diabolical.For wherever envy and contention is, there too is inconstancy and every depraved work.
Do not be willing to labor so that you may be enriched. But set limits by your prudence.Do not raise your eyes toward wealth that you are not able to have. For they will make themselves wings, like those of an eagle, and they will fly in the sky.
Let nothing be done by contention, nor in vain glory. Instead, in humility, let each of you esteem others to be better than himself.
But piety with sufficiency is great gain.For we brought nothing into this world, and there is no doubt that we can take nothing away.But, having nourishment and some kind of covering, we should be content with these.
And are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not choose to seek them. For behold, I will lead evil over all that is flesh, says the Lord. But I will give your life to you unto salvation, in every place, wherever you may travel."
Where do wars and contentions among you come from? Is it not from this: from your own desires, which battle within your members?Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.Brothers, do not choose to slander one another. Whoever slanders his brother, or whoever judges his brother, slanders the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge.There is one lawgiver and one judge. He is able to destroy, and he is able to set free.But who are you to judge your neighbor? Consider this, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into that city, and certainly we will spend a year there, and we will do business, and we will make our profit,"consider that you do not know what will be tomorrow.For what is your life? It is a mist that appears for a brief time, and afterwards will vanish away. So what you ought to say is: "If the Lord wills," or, "If we live," we will do this or that.But now you exult in your arrogance. All such exultation is wicked.Therefore, he who knows that he ought to do a good thing, and does not do it, for him it is a sin.You desire, and you do not have. You envy and you kill, and you are unable to obtain. You argue and you fight, and you do not have, because you do not ask.You ask and you do not receive, because you ask badly, so that you may use it toward your own desires.
There is no health in my flesh before the face of your wrath. There is no peace for my bones before the face of my sins.
Whoever boasts and enlarges himself stirs up conflicts. Yet truly, whoever trusts in the Lord will be healed.
It shall not be this way among you. But whoever will want to be greater among you, let him be your minister.And whoever will want to be first among you, he shall be your servant,even as the Son of man has not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a redemption for many."
Where there are many riches, there will also be many to consume these things. And how does it benefit the one who possesses, except that he discerns the wealth with his own eyes?
I am not saying this as if out of need. For I have learned that, in whatever state I am, it is sufficient.I know how to be humbled, and I know how to abound. I am prepared for anything, anywhere: either to be full or to be hungry, either to have abundance or to endure scarcity.
Let your behavior be without avarice; be content with what you are offered. For he himself has said, "I will not abandon you, and I will not neglect you."
He covets and desires all day long. But whoever is just shall distribute and shall not cease.
Do not choose to store up for yourselves treasures on earth: where rust and moth consume, and where thieves break in and steal.Therefore, when you give alms, do not choose to sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the towns, so that they may be honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.Instead, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither rust nor moth consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal.For where your treasure is, there also is your heart.
No servant is able to serve two lords. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will cling to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
Again, I was contemplating all the labors of men. And I took notice that their endeavors are open to the envy of their neighbor. And so, in this, too, there is emptiness and superfluous anxiety.
For those who are in agreement with the flesh are mindful of the things of the flesh. But those who are in agreement with the spirit are mindful of the things of the spirit.For the prudence of the flesh is death. But the prudence of the spirit is life and peace.
But to the sinner, God has said: Why do you discourse on my justices, and take up my covenant through your mouth?Truly, you have hated discipline, and you have cast my sermons behind you.
Yet truly, each one is tempted by his own desires, having been enticed and drawn away.Thereafter, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. Yet truly sin, when it has been consummated, produces death.
And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.
Whoever trusts in his riches will fall. But the just shall spring up like a green leaf.
Have confidence in the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend upon your own prudence.In all your ways, consider him, and he himself will direct your steps.
Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, I say to you, that the wealthy shall enter with difficulty into the kingdom of heaven.And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for the wealthy to enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Furthermore, since we also have so great a cloud of witnesses over us, let us set aside every burden and sin which may surround us, and advance, through patience, to the struggle offered to us.And indeed, for a few days and according to their own wishes, they instructed us. But he does so to our benefit, so that we may receive his sanctification.Now every discipline, in the present time, does not seem a gladness, of course, but a grief. But afterwards, it will repay a most peaceful fruit of justice to those who become trained in it.Because of this, lift up your lazy hands and your lax knees,and straighten the path of your feet, so that no one, being lame, may wander astray, but instead may be healed.Pursue peace with everyone. Pursue sanctity, without which no one shall see God.Be contemplative, lest anyone lack the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness spring up and impede you, and by it, many might be defiled,lest any fornicator or worldly person be like Esau, who, for the sake of one meal, sold his birthright.For you know that afterwards, when he desired to inherit the benediction, he was rejected. For he found no place for repentance, even though he had sought it with tears.But you have not drawn near to a tangible mountain, or a burning fire, or a whirlwind, or a mist, or a storm,or the sound of a trumpet, or a voice of words. Those who had experienced these things excused themselves, lest the Word be spoken to them.Let us gaze upon Jesus, as the Author and the completion of our faith, who, having joy laid out before him, endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and who now sits at the right hand of the throne of God.
Therefore, seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added to you as well.
But to those who are contentious and who do not acquiesce to the truth, but instead trust in iniquity, he will render wrath and indignation.
Similarly, young persons, be subject to the elders. And infuse all humility among one another, for God resists the arrogant, but to the humble he gives grace.And so, be humbled under the powerful hand of God, so that he may exalt you in the time of visitation.
Charity is patient, is kind. Charity does not envy, does not act wrongly, is not inflated.Charity is not ambitious, does not seek for itself, is not provoked to anger, devises no evil.
For those who are Christ's have crucified their flesh, along with its vices and desires.If we live by the Spirit, we should also walk by the Spirit.Let us not become desirous of empty glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."
But whoever has exalted himself, shall be humbled. And whoever has humbled himself, shall be exalted.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and expend your labor for what does not satisfy? Listen very closely to me, and eat what is good, and then your soul will be delighted by a full measure.
And so, I beg you, brothers, by the mercy of God, that you offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, with the subservience of your mind.
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever else you may do, do everything for the glory of God.
For how does it benefit a man, if he were to gain the whole world, yet lose himself, or cause himself harm?
But the things which had been to my gain, the same have I considered a loss, for the sake of Christ.Yet truly, I consider everything to be a loss, because of the preeminent knowledge of Jesus Christ, my Lord, for whose sake I have suffered the loss of everything, considering it all to be like dung, so that I may gain Christ,
"Pay attention, lest you perform your justice before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward with your Father, who is in heaven.May your kingdom come. May your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.Give us this day our life-sustaining bread.And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.And lead us not into temptation. But free us from evil. Amen.For if you will forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father also will forgive you your offenses.But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your sins.And when you fast, do not choose to become gloomy, like the hypocrites. For they alter their faces, so that their fasting may be apparent to men. Amen I say to you, that they have received their reward.But as for you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,so that your fasting will not be apparent to men, but to your Father, who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.Do not choose to store up for yourselves treasures on earth: where rust and moth consume, and where thieves break in and steal.Therefore, when you give alms, do not choose to sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the towns, so that they may be honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.Instead, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither rust nor moth consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal.For where your treasure is, there also is your heart.The lamp of your body is your eye. If your eye is wholesome, your entire body will be filled with light.But if your eye has been corrupted, your entire body will be darkened. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great will that darkness be!No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will have hatred for the one, and love the other, or he will persevere with the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.And so I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, as to what you will eat, nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?Consider the birds of the air, how they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of much greater value than they are?And which of you, by thinking, is able to add one cubit to his stature?And as for clothing, why are you anxious? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither work nor weave.But I say to you, that not even Solomon, in all his glory, was arrayed like one of these.But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,So if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and cast into the oven tomorrow, how much more will he care for you, O little in faith?Therefore, do not choose to be anxious, saying: 'What shall we eat, and what shall we drink, and with what shall we be clothed?'For the Gentiles seek all these things. Yet your Father knows that you need all these things.Therefore, seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added to you as well.Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow; for the future day will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its evil."so that your almsgiving may be in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasures and dissatisfaction.It is better to be called to vegetables with charity, than to a fatted calf with hatred.
And the heavens will announce his justice. For God is the judge.Listen, my people, and I will speak. Listen, Israel, and I will testify for you. I am God, your God.
Men will be lovers of themselves, greedy, self-exalting, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, wicked,without affection, without peace, false accusers, unchaste, cruel, without kindness,traitorous, reckless, self-important, loving pleasure more than God,even having the appearance of piety while rejecting its virtue. And so, avoid them.
For what distinguishes you from another? And what do you have that you have not received? But if you have received it, why do you glory, as if you had not received it?
But he gives a greater grace. Therefore he says: "God resists the arrogant, but he gives grace to the humble."
Jesus said to him: "If you are willing to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me."
For know and understand this: no one who is a fornicator, or lustful, or rapacious (for these are a kind of service to idols) holds an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Therefore, mortify your body, while it is upon the earth. For because of fornication, impurity, lust, evil desires, and avarice, which are a kind of service to idols,
Yet truly, do not choose to rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
Remove, far from me, vanity and lying words. Give me neither begging, nor wealth. Apportion to me only the necessities of my life,lest perhaps, being filled, I might be enticed into denial, and say: 'Who is the Lord?' Or, being compelled by destitution, I might steal, and then perjure myself in the name of my God.
For you, there should be no unnecessary adornment of the hair, or surrounding with gold, or the wearing of ornate clothing.Instead, you should be a hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptibility of a quiet and a meek spirit, rich in the sight of God.
Truly, these ones have sought my soul in vain. They will enter into the lower parts of the earth.
And when Jesus heard this, he said to him: "One thing is still lacking for you. Sell all the things that you have, and give to the poor. And then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me."When he heard this, he became very sorrowful. For he was very rich.
Do you not know that, of those who run in a race, all of them, certainly, are runners, but only one achieves the prize. Similarly, you must run, so that you may achieve.And one who competes in a contest abstains from all things. And they do this, of course, so that they may achieve a corruptible crown. But we do this, so that we may achieve what is incorruptible.
When an inheritance is obtained hastily in the beginning, in the end it will be without a blessing.
For all the wild beasts of the forest are mine: the cattle on the hills and the oxen.I know all the flying things of the air, and the beauty of the field is with me.If I should be hungry, I would not tell you: for the whole world is mine, and all its plentitude.
to set aside your earlier behavior, the former man, who was corrupted, by means of desire, unto error,and so be renewed in the spirit of your mind,and so put on the new man, who, in accord with God, is created in justice and in the holiness of truth.
Do not imitate evil men, nor desire to be among them.If you despair, being weary in the day of anguish, your strength will be diminished.Rescue those who are led away to death. And do not cease from delivering those who are dragged away to a violent death.If you would say: "I do not have sufficient strength." He who inspects the heart, the same one understands, and nothing slips past the one who preserves your soul. And he shall repay a man according to his works.My son, eat honey, because it is good, and the honeycomb, because it is so sweet to your throat.So, too, is the doctrine of wisdom to your soul. When you have found it, you will have hope in the end, and your hope shall not perish.Do not lie in wait, and do not seek impiety in the house of the just, nor spoil his rest.For the just one will fall seven times, and he shall rise again. But the impious will fall into evil.When your enemy will fall, do not be glad, and do not let your heart exult in his ruin,lest perhaps the Lord see, and it displease him, and he may take away his wrath from him.Do not contend with the most wicked, and do not be a rival to the impious.For their mind meditates on robberies, and their lips speak deceptions.
And so, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and unmovable, abounding always in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not useless in the Lord.
The fear of the Lord is unto life. And he shall linger in plentitude, without being visited by disaster.
For they all seek the things that are of themselves, not the things that are of Jesus Christ.
The lofty eyes of man have been humbled, and the haughtiness of men will be bowed down. Then the Lord alone shall be exalted, in that day.
Wherever arrogance may be, there too is insult. But wherever humility is, there too is wisdom.
But do not be willing to forget good works and fellowship. For God is deserving of such sacrifices.
Therefore, all things whatsoever that you wish that men would do to you, do so also to them. For this is the law and the prophets.
For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but rather justice and peace and joy, in the Holy Spirit.
So then, I say: Walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.For the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. And since these are against one another, you may not do whatever you want.
Let everything whatsoever that you do, whether in word or in deed, be done all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Instruct the wealthy of this age not to have a superior attitude, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God, who offers us everything in abundance to enjoy,and to do good, to become rich in good works, to donate readily, to share,to gather for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may obtain true life.
And may my God fulfill all your desires, according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
So then, truly his salvation is near to those who fear him, so that glory may inhabit our land.
And so, brothers, see to it that you walk cautiously, not like the foolish,but like the wise: atoning for this age, because this is an evil time.
And God is able to make every grace abound in you, so that, always having what you need in all things, you may abound unto every good work,