Ambition

Societal ambition is something that is beaten into the core of our existence all our lives.  Keeping up with Jones's, climbing the corporate ladder, breaking the glass ceiling.  The media barrages us with bigger, better, newer and more advanced options for technology and things you just NEED to have, all of which require more green which drives the cycle:, climb the corporate ladder, make more green, get more STUFF.  The more I surround myself with people who see their salary as simply a means to an end, in other words, I work to provide for my family and meet their basic needs, the more I see the bigger picture and how society's message drives us away from God.  It became a turning point in my mentality when we realized our ambition for our special needs daughter was not for her to become a doctor, CEO or lawyer, but to have meaningful relationships in her life.   Richard Sterns, President of World Vision writes in his book "The Hole in our Gospel" how he found himself constantly falling into CEO positions, being at the right place at the right time.  In his case, God had a bigger plan for him, all that experience became the roadmap God had laid for him and he ultimately accepted the position at World Vision at a lower salary than he had been making and after turning down what society would have called the job offer of a lifetime.  While it would be A to the Awesome if God's roadmap for my life included being Richard Sterns successor, i am pretty sure it doesn't.  What I do know is that God has put some pretty amazing people in my path recently and the more I hear stories about people turning down promotions, forgoing lives unecessary luxuries and choosing to put family time and serving the Lord first in their lives, the more I am inspired and the more I realize where my true ambition lies.