The Church Needs Ambitious Men

We need men possessed by a holy ambition for all of life.

In 1 Timothy 3:1, Paul states, "It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do."

There is a logical progression to Paul's thoughts in all of his letters, including 1 Timothy. He concludes chapter 2 with some general exhortations for both sexes on how they ought to conduct themselves in the worship service. Men are to pray without anger and dissension, and women are to dress and behave modestly. Then, in 2:13, Paul says, "I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet." This is one of the places where Scripture is especially clear that women aren't to hold authoritative positions in the church.

However, that doesn't mean that just any man can be an elder solely based on being male. A closer look at 1 Timothy reveals that Timothy's main difficulty, which he is dealing with, is wayward elders or wannabe elders teaching incorrect doctrine. There are many men who, due to their desires, character, and abilities, shouldn't be elders in the church. Great harm has been inflicted upon the church by such men.

Therefore, it makes sense that Paul, moving on from chapter 2, turns to the qualifications that a man must possess to hold the church office of elder or deacon.

I don't want to delve into the specifics of those qualifications here. Instead, I want to focus on this first verse, particularly the second half, as it represents an often-ignored or misunderstood topic: holy ambition.

Paul says, "This is a trustworthy statement." He frequently uses this expression to introduce a new topic and emphasize its importance. It's a true and reliable statement that if any man aspires to the office of overseer, he desires to do a commendable work.

If you desire to be an elder, it must be an ambitious desire. However, I think Christians have been conditioned to be suspicious of both ambition and desires.

But listen, Paul says, "If any man aspires to the office..." The word we translate as "aspires" means to stretch towards or to be strongly pulled towards. It denotes a strong and longing desire to achieve a goal. That's ambition. Webster's definition of ambition is "a strong desire to do or achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work." The 1828 version of Webster's says ambition includes "a desire for excellence or superiority."

That is what is meant by "aspire" here. Again, it describes ambition. The same word is used in 1 Timothy 6:10, which reads, "For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing (there it is) for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

It is also used in Hebrews 11:16. This is the famous "hall of faith" chapter that celebrates the faithful believers of the Old Testament who exhibited great faith. It reads, "But as it is, they desire (there it is) a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them."

So both 1 Timothy 6 and Hebrews 11 describe a strong aspiration or ambition, but they have different objects. In 1 Timothy 6:10, it is riches. People aspire to be rich, and as a consequence, they "wander away from the faith and pierce themselves with many griefs." This is the type of ambition that Christians often think of when they hear the word "ambitious."

When people hear the word "ambition," they often think of evil or self-centered motives. Scripture does warn us about selfish ambition. James 3 says, "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.

There are two important points to consider here:

1. To make it clear that ambition is bad, it requires the use of an adjective or modifier. The same applies to the word "religion." Religion can be good, but false religion is bad. Ambition can be good, but selfish ambition is bad.

2. It's important to note the association between selfish ambition and disorder. Strong's Concordance describes this usage as "disturbance, upheaval, revolution, almost anarchy, first in the political, and then in the moral sphere." Disorder describes a disturbed and broken order. It represents the wreckage of something once beautiful and good. Therefore, ambition of the disordered and selfish sort is bad and sinful.

However, we also see ambition in Hebrews 11. These faithful believers possessed a holy discontentment with this world. They desired a heavenly country and, as a result, "God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them."

There is such a thing as holy ambition, and every believer should cultivate and possess it. We should encourage each other to do great and excellent things. Sometimes, that means achieving straight A's, getting a job promotion, owning a home, or starting a church or Christian school.

A goal is something that is achievable with difficulty. It requires stretching oneself, effort, ambition, and aspiration. What may seem big now will often seem small later if you go for it. Therefore, be ambitious, brethren.

But be ambitious with a heart that worships God, a heart discontented with the disorder of the world's culture.

Let's consider the examples of King Saul, David, Absalom, and Nehemiah. King Saul conquered surrounding nations and built monuments for himself. David conquered even more surrounding nations but longed to build a temple for the name of God. Absalom wanted to be seen as a judge and king in the gates of Jerusalem, stealing the hearts of Israel and wanting their focus on him. On the other hand, Nehemiah desired to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem but focused the hearts of the people on the Lord. In Nehemiah 4:14, it reads:

"When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: 'Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.'"

Be like David, not Saul. Be like Nehemiah, not Absalom. Be ambitious for the Lord's name. It is good to aspire to great things to honor Him. And here's the incredible thing: Those who raise up the name of God often have their name raised up here on earth, and even if they don't, Christ will confess their name before the Father in heaven.

C.S. Lewis wisely said, "Aim at Heaven, and you will get Earth 'thrown in'; aim at Earth, and you will get neither."

Now, back to the text for a moment.

Paul says aspiring to eldership is the desire for a fine work. However, the work of an elder is earthly work; it happens in this life, not in heaven or the hereafter. When we speak of heavenly ambitions, we are referring to the nature of the ambition, not when or where they occur. It's about the quality of ambition—for the glory of God and the good of others. 

The question of all desires is whether they are ordered or disordered desires. 

Recently, I made this statement on Twitter:

They are called the Big 3 because most marketing campaigns to sell to men are built around one of the topics.

Here are a few of the responses I got: 

• Church is trying to teach me the base desires of my flesh are wicked and I'm like ????????

• The priorities of Jesus Christ are clear as can be: working out, raking it in, and hot young tail

• How is any of this the Good News lol?

• that is a problem with men and not with the church

• You nailed it, men are interested in themselves.  They leave the church because the church is for Christians, the same reason anyone else leaves.  They are not satisfied with Christ alone.

• Maybe people for whom these are the 'big 3' should find another religion and stop pretending to follow Christ? These things aren't bad as long as they're not goals, then they're destructive idols. Money becomes Mammon, sex becomes lust, your body becomes your temple of self.

This isn’t hard.

Desiring money can be driven by greed, but it can also be a desire to provide for one's wife, children, grandchildren, neighbors, and community.

Desiring sex can be fueled by lust, but it can also be the expression of a marital bond and the means of creating new image bearers and covenant children.

The pursuit of health can be motivated by vanity, but it can also be a desire to be useful and helpful for as long as possible.

Look around, brothers. Is our problem that the church is full of financially stable, physically fit, and happily married men? Is that the issue? Are we overwhelmed with ambitious men? No, it isn't.

Our problem lies with mediocre men.

Men who are satisfied with online domination, whether through video games or arguments on social media. Men who find satisfaction in masturbation and pornography.

Grossly obese, unmotivated individuals who couldn't run a half mile without needing oxygen. That's the problem. We need men who aspire to greatness. Men who strive for excellence. Ambitious men. Men who are godly, yes, but also ambitious.

We all have room to grow and areas to work on! Stop settling, brothers. Aspire. Go after it. Aim for heaven as you pursue greatness.