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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 seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up what was lacking in your ministry to me.Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.
the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment.
‘Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, “This is what the Lord God says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.
‘What do you want me to do for you? ’ he asked them.They answered him, ‘Allow us to sit at your right and at your left in your glory.’
And they said, ‘Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered throughout the earth.’
You said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the gods’ assembly, in the remotest parts of the North. , I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
‘No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
For everything in the world #– #the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions #– #is not from the Father, but is from the world.
He then told them, ‘Watch out and be on your guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.’
But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth.Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice.
Don’t wear yourself out to get rich; because you know better, stop!As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.
But godliness with contentment is great gain.For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out.If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
But as for you, do you pursue great things for yourself? Stop pursuing! For I am about to bring disaster on all humanity’ #– #this is the Lord’s declaration #– #‘but I will grant you your life like the spoils of war wherever you go.’ ” ’
What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you?Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.Don’t criticise one another, brothers and sisters. Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbour? Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.’Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring #– #what your life will be! For you are like vapour that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask.You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave;just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.
I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself.I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content #– #whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.
Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. ,
‘Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
No servant can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.’
Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him.
I saw that all labour and all skilful work is due to one person’s jealousy of another. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind. ,
For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit.Now the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace.
But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire.Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Anyone trusting in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’
Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but he does it for our benefit, so that we can share his holiness.No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your tired hands and weakened knees,and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed instead. Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness #– #without it no one will see the Lord.Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many.And make sure that there isn’t any immoral or irreverent person like Esau, who sold his birthright in exchange for a single meal.For you know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, even though he sought it with tears, because he didn’t find any opportunity for repentance. For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm,to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them,keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
But seek first the kingdom of God , and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
but wrath and anger to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth while obeying unrighteousness.
In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility towards one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. , Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time,
Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant,is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.’
Why do you spend silver on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.
For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world, and yet loses or forfeits himself?
But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ.More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ
‘Be careful not to practise your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven.Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. , ‘For if you forgive others their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well.But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offences. ‘Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ‘Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.‘The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness! ‘No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. ‘Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?Can any of you add one moment to his lifespan by worrying?And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labour or spin thread.Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was adorned like one of these.But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you #– #you of little faith?So don’t worry, saying, “What will we eat? ” or “What will we drink? ” or “What will we wear? ”For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.But seek first the kingdom of God , and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ,
Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure with turmoil. Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred.
For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good,traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people.
For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it?
But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. ,
‘If you want to be perfect,’ Jesus said to him, ‘go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’
For know and recognise this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.
However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’
Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need. Otherwise, I might have too much and deny you, saying, ‘Who is the Lord? ’ or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God.
Don’t let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewellery or fine clothes,but rather what is inside the heart , #– #the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
When Jesus heard this, he told him, ‘You still lack one thing: Sell all you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ After he heard this, he became extremely sad, because he was very rich.
Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to win the prize.Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown.
to take off , your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires,to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,and to put on , the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.
Don’t envy the evil or desire to be with them, If you do nothing in a difficult time, your strength is limited.Rescue those being taken off to death, and save those stumbling towards slaughter. If you say, ‘But we didn’t know about this,’ won’t he who weighs hearts consider it? Won’t he who protects your life know? Won’t he repay a person according to his work? Eat honey, my son, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to your palate; realise that wisdom is the same for you. If you find it, you will have a future, and your hope will never fade. Don’t set an ambush, you wicked one, at the camp of the righteous man; don’t destroy his dwelling.Though a righteous person falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin. Don’t gloat when your enemy falls, and don’t let your heart rejoice when he stumbles, or the Lord will see, be displeased, and turn his wrath away from him.Don’t be agitated by evildoers, and don’t envy the wicked. for their hearts plan violence, and their words stir up trouble.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
The pride of mankind will be humbled, and human loftiness will be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
Don’t neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.
Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh.For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share,storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life.
And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk #– #not as unwise people but as wise #– #making the most of the time, , because the days are evil.
And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.