The Ambition!

The Ambition!

1 Thessalonians 4:11 AMPC

[11] To make it your ambition and definitely endeavor to live quietly and peacefully, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we charged you.

Ambition is defined as follows: 'a strong desire to do or achieve something' and 'desire and determination to achieve success'. It is clear that there is an end goal in view, and the desire to put in the work required to achieve that goal is also available. When desire meets opportunity and determination, as well as required resources, then whatever the plan is will be achieved. Even when the motive is wrong, like the project of the Tower of Babel, as long as the desire and determination were there, coupled with available resources and unity of purpose, the project would have been a success if God had not confused their language. It is still the same God, who calls men to Himself, seeking lives in which He can shine in and through. Is my life such a medium for His move? Remember, Paul was speaking to people who were in union with Christ. The expectation must line up with my identity. 

One thing that has been consistently laid out under this dispensation of grace is that God would not demand from you that which He has not first supplied grace for. He will also not force Himself on anyone, or go against the exercise of my freewill. If He says He wants it from me, He would first give the grace and enablement, and also His own life will be the perfect template to copy. The most important question then would be whether I am truly His child, with access to the resources that God  has made available for this demand. The demand is that I live quietly and peacefully. This would mean many things but one thing that is key is that people around me will know that I live by different standards. I react differently to situations around me, as I am not under the control or influence of the world's systems. I am not subject to the inordinate desire to be just be rich by the world's standards, and nothing else, but I strive to represent God the right way before men, so that they can be attracted to the grace that is manifest in my life. 

Part of the package is that I also mind my own business and work with my hands. I must be busy at something that adds value to the lives of people around me. It is hard to teach contentment in a world that constantly pursues after a mirage of success, but for those who know God, and who understand His demands and expectations, there has to be a different motivation for what we do and how we do it. Paul, who co-authored this letter, with Silas and Timothy, was someone who worked as a tentmaker, even whilst he was on his missionary journeys. He did not want to be a burden to anyone. If I can focus on that which God calls me to do, there will not be time for worldly pursuits or inordinate desires. If I know what pleases God, I would not be distracted by the expectations or desires of men for compromise, eye-service or hypocrisy. Can we truly say that is our ambition to do that which pleases God? He wants to show Himself strong; would my life be a willing and available vessel? God's time of favour is here.