Ambition is not a word we usually associate with holiness. It almost feels suspicious, like a mark of pride or self-promotion. Yet we admire people who lead boldly in business, innovation, the arts and advancing the gospel. But can the desire to “do something great” coexist with contentment? Can drive and peace really dwell together in the same heart?
Even as I write, I feel this tension personally. I co-founded a company which is in the middle of an investment round. It is difficult not to take the valuation of the company as some sort of personal valuation of achievement. In the midst of negotiations, I find the constant tug-of-war in my heart on how to respond to many things in a God-honouring way.
Separately, my husband and I are on a sabbatical for renewed direction. In the midst of it, we find the Holy Spirit birthing something so large and ambitious for urban missions, the only word to describe it seems to be “bullish.”
Ambition and Contentment are Allies
As I reflected on the tension between ambition and contentment, here is what I found.
Ambition and contentment need not be enemies. When God’s grace reorders our ambition, roots our identity in Christ, forms us through kingdom practices, and motivates us to seek his glory, so that we live with submissive diligence, Christians can pursue success peacefully—not for ourselves, but for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom.
Contentment is not the absence of ambition. It is peace within ambition.
The desire to grow or to create is far from wrong. God’s Word calls it fruitfulness (John 15:8). But our motives determine whether our ambition is holy or hollow.
When our efforts seek God’s glory and the good of others, ambition takes on a sacred quality. When I seek self-glory, it drains the soul. Paul captures this tension when he writes, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12).
His ambition was obedience, not recognition.
Contentment is not the Absence of Ambition
At its core, the gospel redefines success. It frees our worth from our fruitfulness. Since our worth has already been settled at the cross, we no longer strive for identity through achievement (1 Cor. 3:21-23, Phil 2:13).
The power of God frees us to labour hard without the crushing need to prove ourselves (1 Cor. 15:10). We seek excellence—not to earn human favour—but to express gratitude to God (Rom. 16:19).
Contentment is not the absence of ambition. It is peace within ambition. A content Christian can still dream and build, yet remains steady when plans shift or outcomes disappoint. Contentment does not dilute ambition but sanctifies it.
Stewarding Ambition Wisely
When God’s grace shapes our ambition, it looks different from the world’s pattern of ambition. Let us consider some of the ways these differences play out practically.
1. Check Your Heart’s Desires
When God gave my husband and me a missional vision for our city, my first instinct was to launch into a full-on strategy and planning session. God’s gentle and firm correction came almost immediately.
He essentially said, “I’m already working in this city in ways beyond your understanding, I’m inviting you to participate in the work that I am already doing.” This shift in perspective is humbling and yet so freeing.
The idolatrous desire that will always rise up in my heart is to make everything about me. But in reality, it is all about him.
2. Commit Your Work to God
Prov 16:3 says, “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”
It sounds totally counterintuitive. Most of us “commit our plans” to the Lord. We ask him to “bless our work.” But God’s wisdom encourages us to commit our process to the Lord and submit the outcome to him. Through a deliberate practice of submission, it frees you to become a person who makes plans in alignment with God’s purposes. Such is the wisdom of God!
3. Contentment is Not Settling into Comfort and Security
Often, we may fail in our professional, relational, or kingdom calling. When life knocks us about a bit like that, we can tell ourselves to dream a little smaller.
As Christians, we must understand that God calls us to live with a sense of mission for something beyond ourselves. Too much concern for safety and security, along with comfort and convenience, has lulled too many people out of their calling and purpose. We do not serve a tame God. So inner peace and stillness should not be confused with outer material comfort.
4. Practice Spiritual Formation Diligently
There are, unfortunately, no “hacks” to gospel-centred contentment. God’s grace forms us gradually through trust, diligent prayer, and obedience in small things.
Contentment is a by-product of spiritual formation, not an isolated virtue.
We have to recognise that a million things vie for our attention daily. The world is continually trying to influence or form us into something other than Christlikeness. If we do not take the practice of spiritual formation into the likeness of Christ seriously, we will never make real progress.
I like the word practice. Imagine if one wanted to win an Olympic gold in any sport. You do not just wake up one day and decide you can win it. It takes decades of diligent practice! Why would we take our spiritual formation any less seriously? (1 Cor. 9:24-27)
God calls us to diligent practice of prayer & meditation, corporate worship, humility, gratitude, serving, fasting, solitude, and the like. Contentment is a by-product of spiritual formation, not an isolated virtue.
5. Measure Impact by Humility, Not by Numbers
God’s Word is clear. The metrics of success in God’s kingdom are all upside down. The least is the greatest. The first is the last.
As Paul says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Phil. 2:3-4).
If you enjoy the blessing of a happy career, marriage, or relationships, it is not for your benefit alone. God calls us to intentionally clothe ourselves every day in humility and radically share our blessings with others. One day, God will call us to account for how we steward all the blessings he gave us in this life (2 Cor. 5:10, Matt. 25:14-30, Luke. 19:11-27.
To be truly ambitious is to offer all our energy to advance God’s purposes. To be content is to trust him with the outcome. Together ambition and contentment form a holy rhythm. We enjoy a life of drive and peace.
A Prayer for God’s Power at Work in Us
Lord, teach me to desire greatly, but for the right things.
Purify my ambitions until they reflect your heart.
Teach me to labour without anxiety and to rest without apathy.
May my life tell the story of one who was both driven by your glory and content in your grace.
In Christ’s Name,
Amen.
