What Scripture Says About Ambition When Your Goals Take the Throne

January 2021.

The year started like any other year.

We were coming off a record year at the firm. We had weathered the worst of the pandemic storm as a team, and we were up 30 percent in the category we tracked most.

We had so much momentum behind us. And we had BIG goals set to be conquered.

We were poised to have an epic year in 2021.

You probably know how that year actually went. A lawsuit in April. A call to the Marriott on June 16. I walked in as Managing Partner and walked out without the title.

I tell that whole story in The Kairos Code, so I won't retell it here.

What I want to talk about today is the question that hit me in the months that followed. It came while I was sitting alone by my fire pit, trying to figure out where I'd gone wrong.

"Did I chase God with the same determination and persistence that I did my goals and ambitions?"

The hard truth: my answer was "no."

So let's talk about ambition. What scripture actually says about it. And what it took for me to learn that the order of my ambitions mattered more than the size of them . . .

Scripture Has No Problem With Hard Work

Maybe you carry a quiet guilt about your ambition.

Maybe you wonder if wanting to grow is somehow unspiritual. Maybe you wonder if a big goal is a sign of pride. Maybe you've tried to shrink your vision down so it feels more "humble."

I understand that tension. But I don't see that message in the Bible.

Colossians 3:23-24 says it plainly: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

All your heart.

Not half of it. Not the leftovers. All of it.

God gave each of us gifts and unique abilities. I believe one of our primary jobs in life is to figure out what those gifts are, take them as far as we can, and give them back to the world in the service of others.

That takes drive. That takes discipline. That takes ambition.

When I took over as Managing Partner, my motivation was to be the very best I could be so that the firm and everyone in it could be the very best they could be. We had some ambitious goals, and striving to never arrive carried us through year one.

I don't regret that drive.

What I regret is where I let it sit in my life.

Lesson: Wanting to build something great is a gift. Using that gift with all your heart is an act of worship.

Where in your work have you been holding back because you thought ambition and faith couldn't share the same desk?

Ambition Becomes an Idol the Moment It Takes the Top Spot

Here's where scripture gets uncomfortable.

One of the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:3, says, "You shall have no other gods before me."

It's easy to read that and think about statues. False gods. Ancient mythology. Things you'd never bow down to.

But God is talking about ANY idol. Material. Ideological. Spiritual. Anything you place more importance on than your relationship with Him.

During those nights at the fire pit, I had to make an honest list of my idols at the time:

The company I represented.

My position.

My accolades.

Money.

None of those things are evil on their own. A company can serve people. A position can be a platform for good. Money can fund a lot of kingdom work.

The problem was where I had placed them.

I am guilty of putting earthly things above God. My career. My title. Money. Sports. Even my ambition itself.

How do I know this happens to good, driven people? Because I've been guilty of this very thing. I let my goals sit on the throne for years without even noticing.

Jesus asked a question in Mark 8:36 that every ambitious leader should sit with: "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?"

You can hit every number on your scorecard and still lose the thing that matters most.

Lesson: Ambition is a powerful servant and a terrible master. Watch what you put on the throne.

If someone looked at your calendar and your bank statement this month, what would they say you worship?

The Four Questions That Showed Me My Real Priorities

The first question didn't come alone.

As I sat with my wrongs, more questions came, and they got more painful:

"Did I chase God with the same determination and persistence that I did my goals and ambitions?"

"Did I pursue my wife with the same passion and fortitude that I did my vision for business?"

"Did I dedicate as much time and attention to my kids as I did my career?"

"Did I prioritize my mental and physical health to the degree I prioritized my work schedule?"

My answer was "no" to ALL of those questions.

That rocked me in a profound way.

And here's what surprised me. I lost everything professionally, but thank God, I didn't lose the people I cared about most. My wife didn't love me any less. My kids couldn't care less what my "job" was. They loved me just the same.

Just when I felt I had nothing, I realized I had everything I ever needed and more.

I want you to take those four questions seriously, and I want you to treat them as an inspection you run on yourself.

The Kairos Code talks about turning an inflection point into an inspection point. You don't have to wait for your life to fall apart to ask these questions. You can ask them on a quiet Saturday morning with a cup of coffee.

Matthew 6:33 gives the order: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Seek FIRST.

That one word changed how I think about ambition. God still wants me seeking, building, and working with all my heart. He just wants to be first in line.

Lesson: Your ambition will always reveal your priorities. Ask the questions before life asks them for you.

Which of those four questions would you have the hardest time answering "yes" to today?

Ambition in the Right Order Builds Something That Lasts

After the fall, I could have walked away from ambition entirely. Played it safe. Set smaller goals so I'd never get hurt like that again.

That's not what happened.

What came out of that season was the Five Bridges, and the order of those bridges is the whole point.

Spiritual first. Then Internal. Then Relationships. Then Environment. Then Legacy.

The Environment bridge covers your professional, financial, and creative life. It's where your business ambition lives. And it's the bridge everyone wants to jump to first, because that's what society tells us matters most.

I spent most of my adult life starting on the Environment bridge. I was chasing goals, money, and professional accolades and hoping the rest would take care of itself.

It doesn't work that way.

When the Spiritual bridge comes first, your ambition gets anchored to something that can't be taken from you in a single meeting at a hotel. When the Internal bridge is strong, you know who you are with or without a title. When your Relationships bridge is built in the right order, God, yourself, your spouse, your kids, then everyone else, your family stops getting your scraps.

Our loved ones don't deserve our scraps while our business world gets the filet mignon.

Then your Environment bridge, your business, your goals, your ambition, gets built on solid ground. And your Legacy bridge becomes something worth inheriting.

I still set goals. I still believe goals expand happiness. I still want to take my God-given gifts as far as they'll go.

The difference is the order.

Lesson: Put God first, and your ambition becomes fuel for everything you love.

If you rebuilt your goals for 2027 starting from the Spiritual bridge, what would change first?

## Action Items From Today 1. Write down your top three goals for the next 90 days, then write next to each one who or what it ultimately serves. 2. Make an honest list of your current idols: the company, the title, the accolades, the money, or anything else sitting above God. 3. Answer the four questions in writing this week, with a plain "yes" or "no" for each one. 4. Block time on your calendar for God before you block time for your biggest business goal. 5. Read Colossians 3:23-24 and Matthew 6:33 every morning for the next seven days. 6. Share one of your ambitions with your spouse or a trusted friend and ask them whether it looks like it's in the right order.

## Five Bridges Challenges 1. Spiritual bridge: Before you open your goal list or your sales numbers each day this week, spend five minutes in prayer asking God to show you what to seek first. 2. Relationships bridge: Pursue your wife this week with the same passion and fortitude you bring to your business vision. Plan one date or one conversation as if it were your most important meeting. 3. Environment bridge: Review one major business goal and rewrite it so it serves your people and your clients, not just your accolades.

If you want a group of driven, faith-filled leaders around you who will hold your ambition to the right order, take a look at the Bridge Builder Mastermind. To see which of your bridges needs the most attention right now, take the LQ Assessment. And for the full story of how my goals fell apart and what God built out of it, read The Kairos Code.

The Moment is NOW.

Inspire & Impact,

Josh