He Must Increase

One of my thorns in the flesh is ambition. And by ambition, I don’t mean motivation, goal-setting, or drive. All of those have positive aspects which help a person accomplish God’s good work and purpose in his life. By ambition, I mean a constant desire, subtle though it may be, for recognition, advancement and memorialization. Granted, my ambition has always been tied to good things: righteous causes, meaningful  work, and important relationships. But frequently, if I don’t receive recognition, if I don’t advance, and if I don’t have the sense that I’ll be remembered, then the cause seems less worth the effort, the work bitters, and the relationship disappoints. And that can make me a basket case.

The antidote to my thorn is the truth of God’s Word. Ephesians 2:10 tells me that I’ve been created for “good work,” ordained by God Himself. That truth alone puts things in perspective: my life isn’t about figuring out how to get the kudos of men, how to advance my career, or how to make it into the history books. It’s about faithfully doing the good work I’ve been given by God, even as He completes the good work He has begun in me (Phil. 1:6). The Bible also tells me that God’s good work for His children isn’t all in the limelight. 2 Timothy 2:20 (NIV) says that  in God’s “house,” some of us will be “articles…for special purposes”(i.e. fine china) and some of us will be “articles…for common use” (i.e. the Tupperware that holds the left-over sauerkraut), but each of us has a purpose, a necessary purpose in the Master’s mansion . Matthew 5:20 reminds me that my good works are to bring glory to God, not me, when they are observed by others.

But even though I know these truths, my thorn of ambition still gets under my skin. Maybe that’s why I’ve always been so drawn to the guy that Jesus said was the greatest person ever born:  John the Baptist. (Matt. 11:11) If there was anyone who had a right to revel just a little in their life purpose, it was John. With a miraculous birth and divine calling, John the Baptist became the single greatest preacher of his era, perhaps of any era. Crowds went into the Judean desert to hear his powerful sermons. His followers transcended racial and socioeconomic barriers. He showed no fear of upsetting the apple carts of the political and religious establishments. And his popularity was so great among the people that even after his death, the religious elite couldn’t openly question that John’s ministry wasn’t ordained by God. (Matt. 21:25-27) Add baptizing the Christ, and being the “voice in the wilderness” preparing the way for the Messiah, and you’ve got a resume that’s pretty hard to beat.

With that kind of pedigree, purpose and popularity, John might have struggled with his ego, but if he did, he resoundingly put it in its place. As Jesus’ ministry launched and more and more people switched to following the Galilean Carpenter, John didn’t bemoan the loss: he welcomed it. As Christ’s forerunner, John pointed people to Jesus from the very beginning. He didn’t stop as the crowds diminished. When his own ministry faded, John explained that this was how it was supposed to work. “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven,” John explained to his followers. “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but ‘I have been sent before Him’…Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase and I must decrease.”  (John 3:27-30) John’s words sum up the believer’s best ambition: to point others to Christ. And if the greatest prophet of all time learned to make that his ambition, maybe I can too.

 
So, to my thorn of ambition, I say “no matter where I am, or what I am doing, no matter if I win an award or my name is never etched in monumental stone, if my faithfulness in my God-given good work causes someone to see Jesus, than that is enough.”  Remarkably, that makes the prick of my thorn a lot less bothersome. If it’s pricking you too, I’d recommend John the Baptist’s cure.